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| ▲ South Korea's National Assembly in Seoul (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) plenary session-bills
(LEAD) National Assembly passes bill requiring hospitals to report births of newborns
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By Kang Jae-eun
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly passed a bill requiring medical institutions to report the births of newborns to local governments Friday, after two unregistered babies were found dead in a refrigerator last week.
The revision to the Act on Registration of Family Relations came amid public outrage over shocking revelations that a woman in her 30s allegedly strangled her two babies to death shortly after their births in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and kept their bodies in a home refrigerator.
The case revealed a loophole in South Korea's baby registration system in which only parents are required to report the births of their children to the government within a month after their births, leaving open the possibility of abuse of unregistered babies.
The new legislation requires hospitals to notify local governments of baby information within 14 days after birth via the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRAS). The bill unanimously passed the judiciary committee Thursday.
The revision will take effect one year after promulgation.
During Friday's plenary session, the National Assembly was also to hold a vote on whether to introduce an opposition-led pro-labor bill, nicknamed the "yellow envelope bill," directly to the plenary session for debates.
The revision of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act aims to restrict filing damage suits against striking workers. The bill had passed the labor committee in February but had since been pending at the judiciary committee chaired by the ruling People Power Party (PPP) for more than 90 days.
By law, a parliamentary committee can send a bill directly to a plenary session for debates and final approval with three-fifths support from its members if the judiciary committee takes no action for more than 60 days after taking over the bill.
The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds majority control of the Assembly, also plans to adopt a parliamentary resolution urging the government to file a complaint with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over Japan's plan to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Earlier this week, opposition members of the parliamentary oceans and fisheries committee unilaterally passed the resolution after their counterparts from the ruling party left the committee meeting en masse in protest.
Additionally, four opposition parties including the DP, will put to a vote a proposal to designate a special bill aimed at supporting victims of the Itaewon crowd crush as a "fast track" bill requiring expedited deliberations.
The DP also plans to submit a proposal to launch a parliamentary investigation against the state audit agency, claiming the agency is unduly targeting government officials appointed during the previous Moon Jae-in administration.
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