[Politics & Diplomacy] Filibuster showdowns set tone as National Assembly kicks off contentious August session

South Korea's August extraordinary session of the National Assembly opened today with political tensions at boiling point.

The ruling and opposition parties remain locked in a standoff over key bills, marking the first time in a year that the legislature has entered a formal filibuster standoff.

Joining us in the studio is our political correspondent, Moon Hye-ryeon.

So Hye-ryeon, could you give us the rundown on the current situation at parliament?

The latest political showdown is centered around five contentious bills — so far, we've seen two of these bills being introduced before being followed up by filibusters launched by the opposition People Power Party.

On Monday, the PPP launched a 24-hour filibuster to block a controversial broadcasting reform bill.

But on Tuesday, the DP and liberal bloc ended it with a supermajority vote, as allowed under Assembly rules.

With the threshold met, the DP swiftly passed the bill — 178 in favor, two against.

A second reform bill was then introduced, triggering another PPP filibuster.

That, too, was cut short at midnight as the July extraordinary session ended after just seven hours.

The media reform bill that was passed through parliament yesterday afternoon is an amendment of the Broadcasting Act, and is one of three contentious media reform bills backed by the DP.

The bills aim to change how the heads of public broadcasters are appointed.

Rather than being selected solely by a broadcaster's board of directors, a new recommendation committee composed of experts from various sectors will now nominate candidates.

Currently, board members are selected largely based on political appointments, often resulting in accusations of government bias.

Under the new law, a broader, more diverse recommendation committee — including members from civil society and academia — would nominate board members.

The number of board members, too, will increase.

The ruling party argues this will reduce political interference and promote independence in public broadcasting.

But the opposition strongly disagrees, saying the change could instead shift control toward liberal-leaning civic groups, and further politicize media under the guise of reform.

A spokesperson from the presidential office today commented on the passage of the bill, saying that it aligns closely with the Lee Jae Myung administration's push to return public broadcasting to the people, and represents an important first step in reforming how public broadcasters are run.

"It represents a crucial first step in institutionalizing reforms to the governance structure of public broadcasters — an issue that has long been considered an urgent task."

You mentioned that there are five contentious bills on the table — what are the others?

Beyond the media reform bills, there are two others that lawmakers are divided on.

One of them is the so-called "Yellow Envelope Bill," which is essentially an amendment of labour union laws that limits employer action on striking union members.

Another is a proposed revision to the Commercial Act that aims to strengthen corporate governance transparency and protect minority shareholders' rights, particularly within large corporations.

Both are being championed by the Democratic Party, while the People Power Party remains staunchly opposed.

Here's what they had to say on the "Yellow Envelope Bill."

"By adjusting the balance in labor-management relations, this will be the first step toward enabling dialogue at sites where subcontractors couldn't even speak to their main contractors — paving the way for voluntary, horizontal cooperation."

"The Yellow Envelope Bill could encourage unlimited illegal strikes and has high potential to devastate industrial sites."

So, can we expect these bills to be passed in this August session?

Looking ahead, the August session is expected to remain highly combative.

Another plenary session is scheduled for August 21st, and the People Power Party has already warned that it will launch filibusters against all of the bills remaining on the agenda if they're pushed forward without bipartisan agreement.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party appears to be taking an approach that's being described as "salami-slicing" — so they're passing bills one by one to wear down resistance.

All eyes are now on whether the opposition will stick to its filibuster threats.

Thank you for the breakdown.

Thank you for having me.