Rival parties agree to vote on U.S. investment bill next week

March 4 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's ruling and opposition parties agreed Wednesday to hold a National Assembly vote March 12 on a bill aimed at managing large-scale investments in the United States.

The proposed legislation, known as the Special Act on Strategic Investment Management with the United States, is intended to address economic uncertainty and coordinate investment projects involving the two countries.

Cheon Jun-ho, a senior floor leader from the ruling Democratic Party, and Yoo Sang-beom, a floor leader from the conservative People Power Party, met at the National Assembly and agreed to complete the special committee review by Sunday before submitting the bill for a vote.

The People Power Party had previously boycotted the committee in protest of the ruling party's passage of judicial reform legislation but returned Wednesday to participate in the review.

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Yoo said the parties decided to move forward with the bill because delays could create additional economic risks.

"With the international situation shifting due to the conflict between the United States and Iran, delays in passing the legislation could raise concerns such as possible U.S. tariffs," Yoo said, adding that the decision was made in the national interest.

Cheon said the legislation is intended to reduce economic uncertainty and create a more stable environment for the public and businesses.

Although both sides agreed on the need to pass the bill quickly, lawmakers remain divided over how investment decisions should be supervised.

Members of the Democratic Party argued that approval procedures in the National Assembly should be simplified to allow faster investment decisions. Rep. Ahn Do-geol said requiring parliamentary approval for every project could slow decision-making and suggested that only projects exceeding $3 billion require prior approval.

Rep. Jin Sung-joon said a memorandum of understanding on Korea-U.S. investment does not create binding obligations and therefore does not require parliamentary ratification.

Lawmakers from the People Power Party argued that parliament must maintain strong oversight because the investments could involve large amounts of public funds.

Rep. Kang Min-guk said the final authority over investment decisions lies with U.S. President Donald Trump and questioned whether South Korea could be excluded from decisions involving hundreds of billions of dollars in investment.

Rep. Kang Seung-kyu also criticized what he described as attempts to bypass parliament in the name of investment speed.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol, who attended the meeting, said the United States is closely monitoring whether the legislation will be passed by Sunday.

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach agreement on whether to process separate legislation concerning administrative integration between Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province and between South Chungcheong Province and the city of Daejeon.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260305010001184