The National Assembly passed the government-backed counter-terrorism bill Wednesday, nine days of filibuster speeches by opposition parties.
The long-awaited election bill to redraw constituency boundaries and a bill related to monitoring human rights abuses in North Korea were also passed.
The end of the legislative deadlock came just 42 days ahead of the general election.
The Assembly approval of the bills followed the end of the filibuster Wednesday evening. Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul finished his speech after 12 hours and 31 minutes as of 7:32 p.m., making the longest filibuster in history.
A total of 39 lawmakers of the main opposition MPK, the minor opposition Justice Party and the People's Party continued a relay of speeches for nine consecutive days to protest the anti-terrorism bill that they said would threaten personal freedom if passed.
The MPK officially decided to stop the marathon filibuster during a general meeting Tuesday night. The party leadership had faced a dilemma amid rising criticism over the delay in a parliamentary endorsement of the constituency map caused by the filibuster.
Despite internal opposition from some lawmakers, the leadership pushed ahead with the decision concerned about a possible delay in the election schedule, party officials said.
Provisions in the human rights bill, passed separately, will establish a center tasked with investigating the North's human rights abuses and compile relevant archives. The bill aimed at improving the human rights situation in the isolated state came after 11 years of bipartisan wrangling.
The endorsement of the bills was pushed by the government and the ruling Saenuri Party in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test conducted Jan. 6 and its subsequent long-range rocket launch Feb. 7. They argued that it was necessary to pass the pending bills to effectively respond to growing threats from the repressive state.
The opposition parties opposed the passage of the anti-terrorism bill, citing possible abuses of the NIS's expanded powers.
While conducting a filibuster which set a new world record of more than 192 parliamentary hours, the MPK attempted to revise the content of the bill in order to limit the NIS powers, calling on the ruling party to negotiate with it, but to no avail.
The Saenuri Party accused the MPK of using an attention-seeking tactic to win votes in the upcoming elections. The bill was passed without a further revision to the last draft made by the rival parties last month.
The Saenuri Party is expected to push other pending bills aimed at reforming the labor market.
"The party plans to put labor reform bills for a vote before the extraordinary session finishes on March 10," Rep. Kim Jung-hoon, the party's chief policymaker, said.
However, party officials expect that the remaining bills could remain pending until after the general election slated for April 13, because the rival parties failed to narrow the gap in their opinions and their focus will soon move to their respective election campaigns.
The government has pushed for the passage of economic and labor reform bills in a bid to revive the sluggish economy. The MPK opposes the move, claiming that their content could cause additional disadvantages for irregular workers.