It is common for the National Assembly to hold up key legislative bills because of a partisan standoff, the vested interests of lawmakers or even laziness.

But the lack of progress on the legislative work for a landmark anticorruption bill is unsettling, all the more so because corruption, which was part of the Sewol ferry disaster, continues to batter Korean society, as seen in the currently unfolding graft scandals involving weapons procurement programs.

A subcommittee of the National Assembly National Policy Committee was to convene a meeting Wednesday to discuss the so-called “Kim Young-ran bill,” the toughest-ever antigraft bill. But the meeting was called off due to an opposition boycott of all parliamentary business, which was promoted by the partisan standoff over the deliberation of the state budget.

This darkens the likelihood of the Assembly passing the bill during the current session. What’s more irritating is that both government officials and lawmakers are seen to be trying to water down the bill.

The bill, named after the former chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, was proposed more than two years ago. The law on placing a “ban on acts of solicitation and prevention of conflicts of interest among civil servants” was hailed as a landmark piece of legislation that could curb bribery and other corrupt practices like revolving-door appointments as well.

The bill’s core clause stipulates that civil servants who receive 1 million won or more will face criminal charges whether or not the money was related to their duties and whether or not it was part of an act of solicitation.

But it was not until August last year that government officials sent the draft bill to the National Assembly. More disappointing was that the government-authored bill eased up on the key clause, laying down criminal punishment only for those who received money in relation to their duties.

It is fortunate that the National Assembly subcommittee restored the core clause of the original bill. It is regrettable, however, that the panel allowed some relaxations, like the one on the scope of relatives to be regulated by the bill.

A bigger problem is that members of the subcommittee, ruling and opposition, keep bringing up minor issues related to the bill. For example, some lawmakers criticize the bill for including teachers at national and public schools and not teachers from private schools.

No act or law is perfect and without loopholes. Moreover, any law can be revised if it is found to have flaws. It is a shame that the Assembly has failed to enact a bill that has been widely hailed for more than two years.