[Politics & Diplomacy] Key agenda for S. Korea's February Assembly

This week, we take a look at developments in the National Assembly.

It's back in action after starting its February extraordinary session last week.

Our political correspondent Lee Shi-hoo joins us here in the studio.

Shi-hoo, let's begin with the government interpellation session that began this afternoon.

What were key takeaways from today's Q&A?

Right, it was indeed the first day of the interpellation today, and lawmakers from both sides questioned the ministers of foreign affairs, justice and national defense, to name a few, one by one.

Now, the topics for today were politics, diplomacy, North Korea, and national defense and security.

As had been forecast, we saw many lawmakers focus their questions around the briefly imposed martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol back in December and its aftermath.

We're seeing some strong attacks on government officials by members of the main opposition Democratic Party and minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, while ruling People Power Party lawmakers maintained a relatively moderate tone in their questions, although some of Yoon's close allies actively defended the conservative president and his actions.

Let's shift our focus to the Assembly's plans and outlook this month.

The rival parties are also undergoing a standoff on another major agenda. What is that?

Yes, one of the main goals of the Assembly this month, and this week actually, was to possibly speed up joint talks between bipartisan lawmakers and the government on state affairs.

They planned on launching "the joint consultative body" within this month, as a way to restore stability in South Korea's politics after the turmoil in December but the process is being delayed with the PPP and DP clashing on the details, mainly of two key items for discussion:

They are 1. the potential special act to boost the domestic semiconductor industry; and 2. the supplementary budget for this year.

The PPP wants to introduce a special act that will provide chip companies an exception to the current labor law so that employees in the sector can work for more than 52 hours per week, which is the limit laid out under the law.

Right now, it's the ruling party's goal to get the bill approved within this month.

While on the other hand, the DP wants to exclude this special labor law exemption and instead lay out other means to support the industry.

And what are their stances on the supplementary budget?

Yes, the PPP has been adamant that the DP needs to apologize first for cutting this year's budget in the first place, before it can start discussing the appropriate amount for the supplementary budget.

They're urging the DP to restore and supplement this year's budget "they've unilaterally cut."

They're especially pushing for budgets that will help the domestic economy recover.

Meanwhile, the DP has insisted on a fast review and approval of the extra financing.

They're suggesting a supplementary budget of at least 30 trillion won also to help the people's livelihood and the economy recover.

Despite key differences, there is still a mutual bipartisan agreement to allocate an extra budget to boost the AI and chip sectors.

The DP said it will announce its own version of the budget proposal tomorrow.

As for the PPP, as we just heard, said they won't object to extra funds for areas that will not instigate political dispute.

So, we expect to see some progress in the coming weeks as they scramble to find common ground.

Thank you Shi-hoo. Do keep us updated on future developments.