32 Domestic Violence Bills Sit Stalled in the National Assembly

Thirty-two bills related to domestic violence have been submitted to the National Assembly but remain unprocessed.

Every time a domestic violence tragedy strikes, the National Assembly has pledged belated countermeasures, yet when it comes to legislation protecting victims, it has all but stepped on the brakes. The pattern has repeated itself: an incident occurs, voices pour out promising to "fix the system," ruling and opposition parties race to introduce countermeasure bills, and once public outrage fades, the bills are left pending. According to the National Assembly Research Service and other sources, bills introduced in recent years aimed at preventing domestic violence and protecting victims number as many as 32.

Piling Up Bills, Stalled Legislation

The 32 bills propose revisions to the Act on the Punishment of Domestic Violence, the Act on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Victim Protection, the Child Abuse Punishment Act, and others. Their main provisions include strengthening the effectiveness of protective orders, expanding the scope of restraining orders against perpetrators, and increasing shelters for victims. Yet a considerable number have been pending for anywhere from several months to several years in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee or the relevant standing committees. As many bills are re-introduced without term limits preventing their sponsors from doing so, only a tiny fraction have been substantively processed.

Behind the sluggish legislative progress lie disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties over the severity of punishment. Bills raising the maximum prison sentence for violating protective orders met opposition on the grounds that they would overly broaden the elements of the crime. Conversely, bills emphasizing victim-centered approaches have seen little progress due to questions over budget and staffing support.

Tragedies Recur While the System Stands Still

The problem is that similar incidents kept occurring during this legislative vacuum. Reports of domestic violence have been trending upward year after year, and critics have long pointed out that under current law, emergency measures and protective orders skew toward after-the-fact responses. They argue there is a lack of effective mechanisms to address the structural reasons victims hesitate to report, and to properly control perpetrators who circumvent protective measures.

Experts point out that the issue is not the volume of bills but the quality of their handling. Some of the 32 bills overlap or conflict with one another, and there are calls for the ruling and opposition parties to set priorities and produce a consolidated bill as the faster path. Criticism is also gaining traction that leaving bills to languish in limbo is itself an abdication of the legislature's responsibility.

The Gap Between Political Calendars and Legislation

Heading into the National Assembly inspection and budget season, both ruling and opposition parties have emphasized livelihood legislation. But domestic violence bills, not classified as issues that directly affect elections, have tended to slip down the political priority list. Analysts say the root cause is the culture of incident-driven legislation—National Assembly inertia that only moves after a tragedy strikes.

Institutions ultimately exist to keep people safe. If the saying that the people, not buildings, are the strength of the nation is applied to legislation, the 32 bills should be read not as numbers, but as the count of potential victims behind them.

That said, there are signs the tide may be turning. Just as President Lee Jae-myung recently promised, in connection with firefighter Jo Wen-mo who died in the Bucheon factory fire, to "forever remember the sacrifice of the deceased" while pledging a review of safety measures and improved conditions, interest in safety and protection at the government level appears to be rising. Remarks at the State Council emphasizing "saying everything that needs to be said" and respecting dissenting opinions could also broaden the scope of legislative discussion.

The key question is whether this momentum will carry over to processing domestic violence bills. If the ruling and opposition parties bundle the politically feasible parts of the 32 pending bills—such as strengthening the effectiveness of protective orders and securing budgets for victim support—into a package, it could break the vicious cycle of acting only after tragedy. Conversely, if the bills continue to be sidelined by the political calendar, mainstream opinion holds that the same countermeasure rhetoric will likely repeat after the next tragedy.