The revised Government Organization Act was approved Friday by the parliamentary Security and Public Administration Committee, paving the way for the three Sewol disaster-related bills to be passed into law.
The revision will take effect on Nov. 19, day after its scheduled approval by the Cabinet on Nov. 18 as initially planned.
The parties had failed to approve the bill on Thursday when the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy raised concerns that the timing of the revision would make it difficult to assess the 2015 budget.
The revised Government Organization Act is aimed at strengthening and streamlining the government’s response to disasters and safety issues by reorganizing related state agencies.
Along with the Government Organization Act revision, the April 16 ferry disaster led to the special Sewol bill and the Yoo Byung-eun bill being proposed.
The special bill is aimed at investigating the developments that led to the accident, while the latter will give the authorities more power in confiscating unlawfully gained assets.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
