The ruling Saenuri Party came up with detailed plans to restrict lawmakers’ prerogatives, including holding second jobs and exemption from arrest on duty.

The party will discuss the reform proposals this week, aiming to restore public trust amid rising criticism of lawmakers’ privileges and irregularities, officials said.

Floor leader Lee Hahn-koo and policy chief Chin Young recently commissioned the parliamentary secretariat to analyze the authorities and privileges bestowed on lawmakers.

Based on the results, they drafted six major plans to voluntarily eliminate some of the allegedly excessive privileges.

The right-wing party is to hold an in-depth discussion on parliamentary reform during its two-day party workshop starting Friday.

Under the plans, lawmakers are to be banned from taking another job and to be stripped of their right of exemption from arrest.

The bill also applies a strict no-work-no-play principle and a reinforced set of punishments on those who use violence in the National Assembly.

It is also to tighten the regulations on retired lawmakers’ pension and to invite outside figures onto the parliamentary ethics committee to improve the panel’s impartiality, according to officials.

Such moves were based on suggestions made late last year by Rep. Park Geun-hye, in an effort to cope with the aftermaths of a cyber attack scandal involving former party members.

The range of jobs that lawmakers may not hold includes lawyers, nonexecutive directors in private firms, university professors and other professional jobs such as doctors and pharmacists.

The current National Assembly Act states that members of a parliamentary standing committee may not seek profits by performing jobs related to the panel’s function.

Under the related clause, however, a lawyer-turned-lawmaker may still accept legal cases as a lawyer, as long as he or she does not belong to the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee.

The no-work-no-pay rule means that lawmakers who do not perform their parliamentary duties under special circumstances ― such as arrest ― should be paid their annual allowance. It is also to be applied to the parliamentary vacuum period, when parties fail to hold an opening session.

The ruling party even offered to give up the exemption from arrest, a fundamental privilege stated in the Constitution.

A lawmaker may not be arrested or detained during parliamentary term, unless he or she has been caught in the act, according to clause 44 of the Constitution.

“It is generally misunderstood that lawmakers dodge criminal punishment more than public servants,” said floor leader Lee.

“Excessive benefits should be eliminated or reduced, reflecting the public sentiment.”

The bill also involves tightening the criteria for the current lawmakers’ pension system, which unconditionally offers 1.2 million won ($1,025) per month to all former lawmakers aged 65 or more.

Under this rule, Rep. Yoon Geum-soon of the scandal-ridden Unified Progressive Party is to benefit from the lifelong pension, though she pledged not to perform any parliamentary duties before stepping down.

The penalty on the use of violence largely reflects the disturbance caused last year by leftist lawmaker Kim Sun-dong who set off tear gas in the parliamentary chamber in protest to the ruling party’s attempt to pass the disputed free trade bill.

The participation of outside figures in the ethics committee is seen as an effort to reflect public opinion in controversial cases such as sexual assaults.

The party is to deliver these six plans to its members during the workshop and to reach a general consensus before moving onto the legislating step, officials said.

The main opposition Democratic United Party, on the other hand, has refrained from confirming its official stance on the issue.

“We will discuss the matter once the Saenuri Party makes its official legislative suggestion,” said vice floor leader Rep. Park Ki-choon.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)