(LEAD) Gov’t promulgates Sewol ferry victim support act, requests reconsideration of 4 other bills

The government on Wednesday promulgated an opposition-led bill extending support for victims of the 2014 sinking of the ferry Sewol but requested the National Assembly reconsider four other contentious bills, setting them up for a veto by President Yoon Suk Yeol. During an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, the government promulgated the amendment to the Sewol Victim Support Act but approved motions demanding the Assembly reconsider the other four bills. All five were passed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday despite objections from the ruling People Power Party (PPP). "As a government with the duty to defend the nation and the interests of all people, we cannot help but think deeply about the fact that bills causing enormous financial burden and with the potential to create considerable social conflict and side effects have been passed unilaterally," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said at the start of the meeting. "That is because, in the event these bills are enforced, the harm will be pa ssed on wholly to the people." Yoon is expected to endorse the motions before the end of the current National Assembly's term at midnight, sending the legislation back to the parliament in what would be his 11th to 14th vetoes of a bill since taking office two years ago. Under parliamentary rules, a bill that has been vetoed during an outgoing Assembly's term cannot be put up for a revote by the incoming Assembly, whose term begins Thursday. That means the four bills, if vetoed, will be scrapped automatically. Political watchers had expected the government to reject all five bills. The Sewol bill calls for extending the period of medical expense support for the disaster victims by five years. A total of 304 people, mostly high school students on a field trip, were killed when the 6,800-ton ferry sank off the southwestern coast in April 2014. The other four bills include a revised special measure aimed at assisting victims of a series of home rental scams, which calls for the state to pay victims their de posits before recovering the money from the landlords. The DP has pushed for the revision to provide victims with better support measures, but the ruling PPP has argued the state should not use other taxpayers' money to settle damage resulting from transactions between individuals. Another contentious bill is the Democratic Merit Act, which proposes benefits for former pro-democracy activists who have not yet been designated as national merit awardees. The PPP argues that this bill is problematic as it could recognize controversial figures, including those who violated the National Security Act, and extend benefits to their descendants. The remaining two bills call for supporting farmers of the premium "hanwoo" beef cattle and laying the legal foundation for the establishment of a representative group for farmers and fishermen. The DP has vowed to push for other contentious bills, including a special counsel probe into a Marine's death, in the upcoming 22nd National Assembly. Source: Yonhap News Agency