National Assembly passes nursing act, livelihood-related bills

Rival political parties held a parliamentary plenary meeting Wednesday and passed several key livelihood bills that have been stalled for months due to partisan disputes, including a nursing act that calls for nurses to play greater roles.

It marks the first time since the 22nd National Assembly opened in May that the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) have passed such bills through agreement.

The nursing act, which provides the legal basis for physician assistant (PA) nurses to assist doctors in performing medical procedures and offers better legal protection to nurses, passed the Assembly in a 283-2 vote with six abstentions.

The proposal of the bill came as the government has been seeking to have PA nurses take on greater roles amid a protracted walkout by trainee doctors in protest of a hike in the country’s medical school admission quota.

Nurses have called for the bill’s passage, stressing the need for legal protection and better working conditions, though it was met with fierce opposition among doctors who claim the act will cause serious confusion within the medical community.

During the session, the Assembly also passed a special bill aimed at assisting victims of a series of home rental scams that abuse the country’s unique rental system, called “jeonse.” Under the bill, jeonse fraud victims will be allowed to lease public housing for up to 20 years.

Another bill that passed the parliament is a law revision bill aimed at preventing parents who have neglected child-rearing responsibilities from claiming their children’s wealth.

Better known as the “Goo Hara law” after the mother of the deceased K-pop star claimed Goo’s inheritance despite having neglected her parental duties, the bill was introduced in the 20th and 21st Assembly but was discarded before the end of each term.

The revised law will take effect in January 2026.

The rival parties are unlikely to address other contentious bills that President Yoon Suk Yeol has recently vetoed, including four broadcasting bills.

Earlier this month, the two sides agreed to first address the bills on livelihood issues amid months of political strife, with the DP unilaterally seeking to pass controversial bills, such as one mandating a special counsel probe into allegations surrounding the death of a Marine last year.