Opposition lawmakers give a standing ovation to the ruling party's remarks. It's rare to see in the political landscape these days, and this strange scene took place in the plenary chamber of the National Assembly. The protagonist who was applauded is Councillor Choi Yeon-sook of the People's Power. Assemblyman Choe directly opposed the party argument and tearfully appealed for the "enactment of the Nursing Care Law."



Opposition gives standing ovation to lawmaker Choi Yeon-sook's tearful appeal

"I beg you to pass the nursing law as originally drafted. Thank you for listening," Assemblyman Choi Yeon-sook of the People's Power ended her remarks by crying

. At that moment, applause erupted from opposition lawmakers, including the Democratic Party and the Justice Party, who were seated. There were also many MPs who gave a standing ovation.

In a political arena cooled by extreme confrontation, there is a strange scene where opposition lawmakers give a standing ovation to a ruling party lawmaker.


Yesterday (27th) before the vote on the nursing law, the plenary session of the National Assembly was held. The power of the people against the enactment of the nursing law ebbed and flowed out of the plenary chamber in protest. They boycotted the vote. At this time, there was a congressman who stood by and caught his eye. That's Councillor Choi Yeon-sook.


Councillor Choi took the podium. I rebelled against the party argument and came forward as a debater in favor of it. Councillor Choi first revealed that she is a former nurse with 38 years of experience and that she is the initiator of the Nursing Act.

"Based on my 38 years of experience as a nurse in the medical field, I introduced the Nursing Act to solve problems in the field and contribute to the health of the people by providing quality nursing services to the people," he began.

Halfway through the debate, my voice trembled and I cried, as if overwhelmed with emotion. "While working at Asan Hospital, a nurse could not operate for 10 hours because there was no doctor to operate, and a teenage student in Daegu died of cardiac arrest while searching for a medical institution," and "Due to the shortage of doctors, doctors' work is being transferred to nurses and nursing work is being transferred to caregivers."

He also tearfully appealed for the enactment of the Nursing Care Law, saying, "The Nursing Law is a law for the weak to care for the dignified lives of the people, such as the elderly and the disabled in a super-aged society, and a people's livelihood bill to protect the lives and safety of the people."

Members of the Korean Nursing Association who were in the audience also shed tears.



A small number of 'beliefs' revealed in the enactment of the Nursing Act

The vote was held after the debate in favor of Assemblyman Choe, which crossed the threshold of the plenary session of the National Assembly with 181 votes in favor, 179 against, and 0 abstentions out of 2 incumbent members.

Among the 179 votes in favor are two members of the People's Power Council, and in addition to Assemblyman Choi Yeon-sook, who was a debater in favor, Assemblyman Kim Ye-ji, who is blind, voted in favor.

Lawmaker Kim Ye-ji, whose mother is a nurse, explained why she voted in favor of the bill, saying, "I read each sentence of the bill carefully, but there was no provision for nurses to practice medicine alone because it contained the word 'community,'" and "as an independent constitutional body, it represented the people's will, not the party's opinion."

It is also noteworthy that the two abstention votes are Democratic breakaway votes. Lawmaker Shin Hyun-young and third-term lawmaker Lee Won-wook abstained from voting contrary to the party's policy.

As a former medical doctor, Shin appears to have found it difficult to vote in favor of a nursing bill opposed by doctors' groups. Doctors are strongly opposed, with the president of the Korean Medical Association starting an indefinite hunger sit-in. It is said that Councillor Lee Won-wook abstained because he felt that more deliberation was necessary. According to a report by Edaily, the lawmaker said, "There is a lot of conflict over the wording of 'community,' and I was wondering if it was right to pass it alone."

A Democratic-led nursing bill passed the National Assembly, and there were only a handful of lawmakers in the voting process who made decisions that went against party policy.



The Power of the People "He Has Particularity"

Lawmaker Choi Yeon-suk, who led the enactment of the Nursing Care Law, is a former nurse and proportional representation, and when he entered the National Assembly, his party was the People's Party, but the Kuomintang is in line with the power of the people, and the party affiliation has changed. As I introduced myself, I am also the representative sponsor of the Nursing and Midwifery Bill.

As much as I have been representing the interests of nurses, I think I chose my beliefs in situations that conflicted with party opinions. A commemorative photo taken with members of the nursing association after the passage of the nursing law shows Choi's position.


Some members of the People's Power expressed discomfort. After all, when the big opposition decided to pass it, was it necessary to debate and vote against the party's principles?

However, at the party level, we decided not to take any action. Senate Minority Leader Yoon Jae-ok said that Choi "has a peculiarity," apparently taking into account the circumstances under which he was elected by proportional representation with the representation of the nurse profession.



There is a specificity. Although we have decided on the party's position, I understand that we participated in the vote according to our personal wishes. I know you acted that way out of determination to take political responsibility yourself. I don't mean to take action from the party's point of view, but I think that the National Assembly should act responsibly as East Sea constitutional body.



(The rest of the story is from the soup)