Special Committee Formed to Handle U.S. Investment Act, Aiming for Early March

[Financial News] The National Assembly on the 9th approved a plan to form a special committee to handle the "Special Act on Managing Strategic U.S.–Korea Investment" (U.S. Investment Special Act). The goal is to reach a bipartisan agreement by early next month.
At a plenary session that day, the National Assembly passed the motion to establish the special committee for the U.S. Investment Special Act. The committee will consist of eight members from the Democratic Party of Korea, seven from the People Power Party including the chair, and one from a minor party or independent group. It will operate for one month, until the 9th of next month.
After Trump recently threatened to raise tariffs back up to 25%, using delays in passing the U.S. Investment Special Act as a pretext, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to quickly set up the special committee. They plan to finalize the committee membership within this week and then begin negotiations on a compromise bill. The aim is to pass the bill through the National Assembly as early as the end of this month, and at the latest by early March when the committee’s mandate expires.
There are currently eight versions of the U.S. Investment Special Act pending. Five were proposed by the Democratic Party and three by the People Power Party. While they are broadly similar in that they promote U.S.-bound investment through a Korea–U.S. Strategic Investment Fund and a related public corporation, they differ significantly in how far prior parliamentary approval should extend. The People Power Party’s proposals require the government to secure National Assembly consent across the entire decision-making process for U.S. investment projects.

uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yun-ho, Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter