Parliament passes cash handout bill amid opposition from ruling party

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a bill on providing cash handouts to the entire population Friday despite protest from ruling party lawmakers. The bill passed in a 186-1 vote held after the Assembly, controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), voted to end a filibuster by the ruling People Power Party (PPP). PPP lawmakers walked out of the session immediately after the vote to end the filibuster began and did not participate in the vote for the bill. The cash handout proposal was among top agenda items for the DP as the 22nd National Assembly opened in May and a general election pledge of former party leader Lee Jae-myung, who argues the plan could boost spending and revive the local economy. "It is a truly audacious mistake to think that distributing 13 trillion won (US$9.48 billion) would revive the economy," PPP Rep. Park Soo-min said during the filibuster. Park set a new record for the longest filibuster in Korean history, speaking for 15 hours and 50 minutes from 2:5 4 p.m. Thursday to 6:44 a.m. the following day. Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be stopped after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of all parliament members, or 180 lawmakers, consent to it. The cash vouchers will range from 250,000 won to 350,000 won for all households. But it is unclear whether the envisioned handouts can finally be implemented because President Yoon Suk Yeol can exercise his veto power against the legislation. After the bill's passage, the DP was to table a pro-labor legislation, dubbed the "yellow envelope bill," that aims to limit companies from making claims for damages against legitimate labor union disputes. Source: Yonhap News Agency