(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Dec. 16) - Irresponsible parties

The National Assembly barely passed the 2009 budget plan last week and parties
are now poised to deal with numerous economic and social bills, many of which are
related to measures to overcome the current financial crisis. However, the
disappointing behavior shown by both ruling and opposition parties in the course
of deliberating the budget raise serious doubts about the readiness of political
forces to cooperate to save the nation from the global economic turmoil.
With 172 seats in the 299-member legislature, the Grand National Party should be
a strong ruling party able to ensure political stability and lead the national
effort to fight economic adversity. Yet, it was unable to secure bipartisan
cooperation for the passage of the spending bill, exposing strategic faults and a
lack of internal leadership. The main opposition Democratic Party was absent when
the Assembly voted on the budget 11 days after the legal deadline.
Throughout the week, the five Assemblymen of the Democratic Labor Party, aided by
some 20 party staff, physically disrupted committee sessions and floor leaders'
meetings, delaying the passage of the budget plan and related law bills. The
Democratic Party had initially agreed with the GNP on the scale of the budget,
but eventually boycotted the plenary session as the ruling party rejected its
demand for an increase of 4.3 trillion won to create jobs and expand social
security schemes.
While the GNP has obviously been ineffective in helping the administration with
what is seen as a weak link between Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party, the main
opposition party has failed to establish a joint front with other opposition
groups in the National Assembly. The DLP severed its ties with the DP, as the
latter agreed to the GNP's tax cut plan. The Liberty Forward Party refused to
cooperate with the DP as its spokesperson branded the LFP as "playing second
fiddle" to the GNP.
President Lee Myung-bak, a late entrant to the GNP, has yet to establish a
reliable mechanism to cooperate with the party, let alone directly control it.
Supporters of former presidential contender Park Geun-hye are still deeply
separated from the party mainstreamers and current chairman Park Hee-tae, being a
non-Assemblyman, has exposed limitations in overseeing the party hierarchy.
Rather than extending unreserved support for the administration, influential
party members called for a reshuffle of economic policy makers, mainly targeting
Finance-Planning Minister Kang Man-soo, for their alleged incompetence in coping
with the current economic turmoil. GNP lawmakers were split over the
administration's tax cut plan, especially regarding the integrated real estate
tax.
The apparent factionalism and policy disarray in the ruling party, the lack of
direction in the virtually leaderless main opposition Democratic Party, and the
roguish actions of the Democratic Labor Party, defying the most basic rules of
parliamentary politics, are increasing public disenchantment with political
parties to a dangerous level. The legislative record of the current 18th National
Assembly is one of the lowest in Korea's parliamentary history.
Unfortunately, unproductive legislature has become the norm in the Republic of
Korea. The current dire situation demands that our National Assembly do more to
support, guide and supervise the administration in its endeavors to stave off the
economic crisis. Parties need to make more policy consultations across their
ideological divide and opposition groups should display greater wisdom to seek
practical gains through constructive bargaining with the government party instead
of losing in pursuing extremist struggles.
(END)