[Politics & Diplomacy] Rival parties set aside political strife to tackle flood recovery, trade talks

After days of bipartisan clashes during confirmation hearings for the Lee Jae Myung administration's first Cabinet, the National Assembly shifted its focus this week to bipartisan cooperation, tackling both domestic and international issues.

For more on the key legislation and what lies ahead throughout the July extraordinary session, we turn to our political correspondent Shin Ha-young.

Welcome Ha-young.

Good evening.

Ha-young, the rival parties have put political strife on hold to focus on responding to the recent deadly downpours in South Korea. Could you tell us more about that?

Well, following the recent heavy rain that caused serious damage nationwide, both parties canceled or postponed their schedules to visit affected areas and assist with recovery efforts.

The government has declared six regions as special disaster zones, and both the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party have spoken with one voice, saying more areas may need to be added.

Take a listen.

"We'll speed up recovery efforts to help people get back to their daily lives. A fast recovery is our top priority. The Democratic Party will work closely with the government to make sure the needed equipment and support reach affected areas on time."

"Lawmakers are visiting flood-affected areas, and we'll do our best as a party to help displaced residents return to their daily lives. We also urge the government to quickly designate other hard-hit areas as special disaster zones."

Also during today's plenary session, unlike the last one when parties clashed over approving Kim Min-seok's appointment as prime minister, the rival parties came to an agreement and passed a set of non-controversial bills.

Among them, two notable ones relate to agriculture and fisheries.

One is an amendment to the Prevention and Countermeasures against Agricultural and Fishery Disasters Act, aimed at strengthening support so that farmers and fishermen can recover more quickly and return to their daily lives after the disasters.

The other is a revision to the Agricultural and Fishery Disaster Insurance Act, which expands coverage and reduces insurance premiums.

Under the current laws, support for affected farmers and fishers is limited to basic relief, and this doesn't fully cover their losses or help stabilize their livelihoods after such disasters.

The amendments come amid increasingly frequent and severe disasters such as floods and heavy rain linked to climate change ---most recently seen in the deadly downpours that swept across the country.

Similar revisions were vetoed by the former government, but this time the rival parties agreed that conditions for farmers and fishermen need to improve, and had in-depth discussions.

Like you said, while the parties do clash at times, we also see them come together when it matters.

On that note, I hear the rival parties are also working together to support the South Korea-U.S. trade talks.

You're right. As we saw in other coverage, Trump's reciprocal tariffs on trading partners are a key issue for South Korea.

A group of lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties is currently in the U.S. to support trade talks between the two countries, aiming to encourage American state governors and local politicians to voice their support at the White House.

According to the Korea-U.S. parliamentary union, they met with U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman on Tuesday and expressed the view that the trade negotiations should be concluded swiftly through a "package deal."

They suggested that instead of addressing U.S. demands separately, the two countries should bundle them into one comprehensive agreement --what they called a "good deal."

The union said that they also told members of the U.S. Congress that minimizing tariffs on key items like cars and steel is crucial for the South Korean economy.

They also emphasized the need to speed up the trade talks and begin preparing for a Korea-U.S. summit.

Then can we expect such kind of cooperation at the Assembly throughout the rest of the July extraordinary session?

Well, first of all, the extraordinary session concludes on August 4, with continued cooperation expected until that date.

This is because the DP plans to address issues related to people's livelihoods, where there is a bipartisan consensus.

Recently, it suggested 11 bills to the PPP for discussion and is currently awaiting a response.

However, it's still hard to say the outlook is optimistic for the entire extraordinary session; instead, a political standoff between the rival parties is expected.

This is because the DP plans to push for the passage of contentious bills during this period.

These include a revision to the Grain Management Act that would prompt the government to take active measures to stabilize the prices of grain, mainly rice, to help farmers.

A similar amendment was vetoed by the previous government last year.

Another plenary session is expected on the last day of the extraordinary session, so these are key developments to watch until then.

Alright, thank you for the wrap-up, Ha-young.

My pleasure.