| Type of parliamentary body |
Multifunctional |
| Nature |
Permanent |
| Related to chambers |
Kuk Hoe
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| Date of creation |
7 October 1948 |
| Last renewal date |
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| Mandate |
Pursuant to Article 36 and Article 37, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 5 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly, the Committee examines bills and petitions related to the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification and discharges other duties such as inspection and investigation of state administration pursuant to its mandate. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade is in charge of WTO negotiations and there is no set practice for the Committee to approve of policy guidelines before trade negotiations.
According to Article 128, Paragraph 1 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade makes either verbal or written reports to the Committee on the results of trade negotiations. The Committee may hold a public hearing to obtain input from experts (Article 64, Standing Orders of the National Assembly) and may call on professionals to deliberate matters that require professional knowledge (Article 43, Standing Orders of the National Assembly).
The President concludes and ratifies treaties (Article 73 of the Constitution) and the National Assembly has the right to consent to the conclusion and ratification of treaties pertaining to mutual assistance or mutual security, treaties concerning important international organizations, treaties on friendship, trade and navigation, treaties pertaining to any restriction in sovereignty, peace treaties, treaties on an important financial obligation; or treaties related to legislative matters (Article 60 of the Constitution).
The Committee and the National Assembly may hold a hearing (Article 65, Standing Orders of the National Assembly), request the attendance of cabinet members (Article 121, Standing Orders of the National Assembly), make an inquiry into the government (Article 122, Standing Orders of the National Assembly), or inspect and investigate state administration (Article 127, Standing Orders of the National Assembly) so as to monitor and oversee international agreements.
Pursuant to Article 51 of the National Assembly which stipulates that each committee may introduce legislative bills and other proposals with respect to matters which fall within its jurisdiction, the Committee may submit legislative bills on trade while the government is empowered to formulate budget bills on trade (Article 54, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution). The National Assembly deliberates and decides on the national budget bill (Article 54, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution). The Committee also makes a preliminary examination of the budget estimates for administrative affairs which fall within its jurisdiction (Article 84, Paragraph 1, Standing Orders of the National Assembly).
All nationals have the right to request access to information and non-nationals are also entitled to that right under certain conditions (Article 5, Paragraphs 1 and 2, Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies Act). In addition, public entities including the National Assembly and the Committee need to regularly disclose information on policies that have great implications on people's livelihoods (Article 7, Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies).
Apart from the permanent Committee on Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade, the National Assembly has set up special committees to meet specific needs concerning international trade. For example, it established the Special Committee on Strengthening National Competitiveness and Reforming Economic Institutions and the Special Committee on the Uruguay Round. In 2005, moreover, the National Assembly created a special inspection committee to investigate the trade talks on extending the grace period before fully opening up the Korean rice market.
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| Membership |
The Committee is composed of 26 members. Standing committee members are appointed and replaced by the Speaker, at the request of representative Assembly members of each negotiation group, in proportion to the number of members belonging to each negotiation group (Article 48, Paragraph 1, Standing Orders of the National Assembly) and serve a two-year term (Article 40, Paragraph 1, Standing Orders of the National Assembly). |
| Working methods |
All legislative bills, including bills on trade, may be introduced by the members and the committees of the National Assembly and the government (Article 52 of the Constitution and Article 51 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly). When a bill is proposed or submitted, the Speaker presents it to the plenary session and to the competent standing committee for deliberation after which the bill is referred back to the plenary session (Article 81, Paragraph 1, Standing Orders of the National Assembly). In examining any bill, the committee shall hear an explanation on the purpose of the bill and the report by the special counsel, and take a vote thereon following a general debate. The bill is then tabled for deliberation by the subcommittee, after which a decision is taken by majority vote of members present (Article 54, Standing Orders of the National Assembly). Subsequently, the bill is presented to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which deliberates on its legality and wording, referred to the plenary session, and passed with a majority vote with the presence of at least one-half of the total membership.
The National Assembly makes an annual inspection of the state administration every September to monitor implementation of laws and regulations and may initiate extraordinary inspection sessions upon the request of at least one-quarter of the Assembly membership (Article 2, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 1, on the Inspection and Investigation of State Administration Act).
If required for deliberating important matters such as inspection and investigation of government offices, the Standing Committees, including the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, may organize a hearing of witnesses, experts, and informants to hear testimony and collect evidence.
The plenary session may request via a resolution the presence of the prime minister, cabinet members and government representatives, who will have to attend the meeting and answer questions (Article 121, Paragraphs 1-3, Standing Orders of the National Assembly).
The Committee collects information on international negotiations, including the WTO trade talks, through legal instruments such as the right to request the presentation of reports and documents as set forth in Article 128, Paragraph 1 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly or public hearings, government inspections and investigations as stipulated in Article 128, Paragraph 1 of the Standing Orders.
If the Chairperson or the Committee so decides, the document concerning the process and results of a public hearing, held by the Committee, or other committee documents, may be published and distributed to members of Parliament and made known to the general public (Article 70, Paragraph 4 of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly).
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| Relations with other parliamentary bodies |
Any competent committee, including the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, may hold a joint meeting and exchange opinions after consulting other committees, but no vote may be taken at joint meetings. |
| Relations with external bodies |
The relationship between the Committee and the Government is formed and maintained as the Committee inspects and investigates state affairs and requests the Government to draft a report, submit documents and accounts, and ask for the attendance of its witnesses, experts or informants.
The Committee gathers public opinion through hearings and websites and consults civil society groups and experts when introducing a bill on trade, assessing the implementation status of treaties, and examining the content of treaties.
It is not customary for members of the Committee to attend inter-governmental negotiating forums such as WTO Ministerial Conferences as part of official national delegations.
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| Subjects dealt with |
Subjects dealt with by the Committee include: the bill on the exemption to the Customs Duties Act for the implementation of the FTA signed by the governments of the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Chile (approved in the plenary meeting of 16 Feb. 2004); the government-proposed motion on the FTA concluded between the governments of the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Chile (approved in the plenary meeting of 16 Feb., 2004); the government-proposed motion for ratification on the partially amended WTO trade pact on opening up the domestic rice market (approved in the plenary meeting of 23 Nov., 2005); the government-proposed motion on the ratification of the FTA between the governments of the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Singapore (Pending with the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee). |
| CONTACT INFORMATION |
| Main address |
450 The National Assembly Bldg, 1 Uisadang-daero Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-701 Republic of Korea |
| Phone |
+822 788 2662 |
| Fax |
+822 788 3353 |
| E-mail |
uft@assembly.go.kr |
| Website |
http://uft.na.go.kr
|
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PRESIDING OFFICER(S)
|
| Name |
Mr. Ki-June Yoo |
| Notes |
Chairperson |
| Address (if different from above) |
450 The National Assembly Bldg, 1 Uisadang-daero Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-701 Republic of Korea |
| Phone |
+822 788 2662 |
| Fax |
+822 788 3353 |
| E-mail |
uft@assembly.go.kr |
| Website |
http://uft.na.go.kr
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SECRETARY
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