National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik, marking 100 days in office, said he would build "a virtuous cycle in which corporate innovation leads to legislation, and legislation leads back to innovation." Since taking office on June 5 as speaker for the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly, Cho has accelerated the passage of livelihood-related bills while setting up a framework for regular dialogue between the legislature and the business community, seeking to turn the Assembly into one that "runs alongside companies."
Cho made the remarks in a press release distributed on the 13th, saying, "The National Assembly will become a reliable partner for the Republic of Korea's economy." He reached his 100th day in office the previous day.
Among Cho's key achievements is the expansion of contact between the Assembly and the business sector. In July, he met Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won and chief executives of major companies at the chamber's headquarters, then fleshed out plans for a standing cooperation framework at the Jeju Forum. On the 9th of this month, the National Assembly Committee for a Great Economic Leap was formally launched to discuss legislative and policy issues on an ongoing basis.
Cho and Chey serve as co-chairs of the committee. The first subcommittee, covering industry, is led by Kim Sung-won, chairman of the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee; the second, covering taxation and fiscal policy, by Cho Seung-rae, chairman of the Finance and Economic Planning Committee; and the third, covering fair trade and capital markets, by Yoo Dong-soo, chairman of the National Policy Committee. Chief executives of major companies participate as members, conveying views from industry to legislative and policy discussions.
It is the first time a National Assembly speaker and the head of a business organization have served as co-chairs of such a body, bringing lawmakers and companies together across areas including industry, taxation, fiscal policy, fair trade and capital markets. The aim is to reflect views from businesses directly in the legislative process and support economic vitality.
Cho has also made livelihood legislation the top priority in running the Assembly. In his opening address to the regular session on the 1st, he stressed that the priorities were "livelihood first, livelihood second and livelihood third," and proposed that the rival parties establish a "tradition of bipartisan cooperation on livelihood issues" by passing livelihood bills referred to the plenary within the same session.
To support that, a "livelihood legislation strategy meeting" involving chief expert advisers from each standing committee was held on the 2nd of this month. The plan is to identify legislative tasks closely tied to daily life in advance and, for bills where negotiations between the parties have progressed, link them to a monthly "livelihood legislation week" leading to passage in the plenary. According to the Assembly, 177 livelihood and reform bills have been passed since Cho took office.
Progress has also been made in revising laws directly tied to citizens' basic rights. Through a task force on revising unconstitutional statutes, formed shortly after he took office, the Assembly passed an amendment to the law on persons of national merit on the 20th of last month, following a ruling of constitutional nonconformity, and passed an amendment to the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality in the plenary on the 26th. The carbon neutrality amendment in particular fulfilled Cho's pledge, made in his Constitution Day address and at a press briefing after taking office, to pass it within August.
A task force on improving the petition system has also been set up to ensure that public voices lead to legislation. The Assembly plans to pursue institutional changes during this regular session, including revising the National Assembly Act, to make petition reviews more active and raise processing rates so that the constitutionally guaranteed right to petition is substantively protected.
Cho has also broadened parliamentary diplomacy. Defining it as one of three pillars of South Korea's diplomatic strategy alongside government and public diplomacy, he created a senior secretariat for foreign affairs and security within the speaker's office for the first time. He also launched a national interest diplomacy advisory committee to draw up a medium- to long-term strategy for parliamentary diplomacy.
Since taking office, Cho has held talks with parliamentary leaders from Vietnam, Canada and other countries, and met ambassadors to Seoul from the U.S., China and Japan to discuss the alliance with Washington, relations with Beijing and Tokyo, and ways to expand inter-parliamentary exchanges. In his Constitution Day address, he formally proposed unconditional inter-Korean parliamentary talks to North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, moving to restore a legislative channel for dialogue with Pyongyang.
Communication with the government has also expanded. Since taking office, Cho has met Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and ministers overseeing the economy, science and technology, foreign affairs and industry to discuss budget and legislative issues. He called in particular for the 2027 budget to be drawn up as an "innovation budget" investing in future growth engines and an "inclusive budget" aimed at easing polarization, and expressed willingness to cooperate on legislation related to future industries, including a special act on mega special zones.
Cho identified making change tangible for the public as the task ahead. Major institutional projects are proceeding in parallel, including construction of the Sejong parliamentary building, a Gwangju branch of the National Assembly Library and the Assembly's shift toward artificial intelligence.
"If the past 100 days were about laying the groundwork for an Assembly that works, the task ahead is to ensure the public can feel the change in their daily lives," he said. "We will handle livelihood bills and the budget without disruption during the regular session, and put discussions on constitutional amendment to realize popular sovereignty on track."
