The procedure in Article 53 (Korea)
- A bill passed by the National Assembly is sent to the government, and the President promulgates it within 15 days (para. 1).
- If the President objects, he or she may, within that period, return it to the Assembly with written objections and request reconsideration, also during a recess (para. 2).
- Reconsideration cannot be requested for part of a bill or with amendments (para. 3).
- If the Assembly passes the bill again in the same form with a majority of members present and two-thirds of those present, it becomes law (para. 4).
- If the President neither promulgates nor requests reconsideration within 15 days, the bill becomes law (para. 5).
- If the President does not promulgate a finalised law within five days, the Speaker does so (para. 6).
Is a pocket veto allowed?
Because paragraph 2 requires return even during a recess and paragraph 5 makes the bill law when the period lapses, the prevailing view is that a US-style pocket veto, killing a bill by inaction, is in principle not available in Korea. The expiry of the Assembly's term, when it cannot receive a returned bill, is sometimes discussed as an exception.
The US presidential veto
Under Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, the President signs a bill or returns it with objections within ten days (Sundays excepted). Congress can override with a two-thirds vote in each house. If Congress has adjourned and prevents the return, an unsigned bill dies (pocket veto). The Line Item Veto Act of 1996, which allowed vetoing parts of bills, was struck down in Clinton v. City of New York (1998).
Significance
The veto is the executive's check on the legislature and a core device of the separation of powers and checks and balances. It is used often under divided government, and the threat of a veto can reshape bills through bargaining even without an actual veto (Cameron, 2000). For a comparison of systems see presidential and parliamentary systems.
References
- 대한민국헌법 제53조. 국가법령정보센터. https://www.law.go.kr/
- Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 7.
- Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998).
- Cameron, C. M. (2000). Veto Bargaining: Presidents and the Politics of Negative Power. Cambridge University Press.