From September 2–8, 2023, Chief Park Sang Chul, along with a delegation from the NARS, visited the European Parliament Research Services (EPRS) and the House of Commons Library of the United Kingdom. The delegation met with Director-General Anders Rassmussen of the EPRS, Managing Director Grant Hill-Cawthorne of the House of Commons Library, and the heads and researchers of impact analysis departments from each organization. They exchanged opinions and ideas on legislative impact analysis and reached a consensus on strengthening their cooperation.

  The NARS and the EPRS signed an MOU in 2019. The EPRS is the in-house research service and think tank of the European Parliament, conducting legislative impact assessment of bills proposed at the European Union. During the meeting, Director-General Rassmussen introduced the core tasks and structure of the ERPS such as research, analysis, impact assessment, and so forth. More detailed explanation on cases, benefits, and limitation of impact assessment by the EPRS was provided by Mr. Wolfgang Hiller, Director for Impact Assessment and Foresight.

  At the meeting with Managing Director Grant Hill-Cawthorne of the House of Commons Library, the NARS delegation learned more about the Research and Information (R&I) and the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) of the library and their works (i.e., parliamentary support works, organizational structure, and personnel). Dr. David Slater, Deputy Head of Scrutiny Unit gave more specific explanation on Westminster’s impact assessment, which is done by the UK government on government bills.

  After learning about the distinctive characteristics of the ERPS and the House of Commons Library, Chief Park explained to his counterparts about the difficulties in South Korea’s legislative process (e.g., more than majority of bills are proposed by members). Mr. Park shared his vision of enacting impact analysis which suits the reality in South Korea and emphasized the cooperation between related organizations. Last but not least, he also expressed his gratitude to the Director-General and the Managing Director for agreeing to send delegates to the upcoming International Seminar for Parliamentary Research Services to be hosted by the NARS this October.