Ruling party proposes dialogue with opposition parties over FTA bill

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- The chief of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP),
Park Hee-tae, on Sunday offered to open dialogue with opposition parties over a
long list of disputed bills, including one on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement
(KORUS FTA) which passed South Korea's parliamentary subcommittee amid violent
scenes last week.
Park told a news conference that his party will seek to resolve pending political
confrontation over the KORUS FTA and other controversial bills by Thursday
through dialogue with opposition parties.
"The GNP will do its utmost by Thursday to hold dialogue with the opposition
parties through various channels," Park said.
"We hope the ruling and opposition parties will be able to reach a compromise
through dialogue."
Dialogue between the GNP and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has been
suspended after the ruling party unilaterally approved the government's 2009
budget bill and submitted the KORUS FTA bill over the past two weeks.
On Thursday, the National Assembly's foreign affairs subcommittee unilaterally
decided to submit the KORUS FTA bill to a judiciary subcommittee for legal
deliberation in a session violently opposed by the opposition parties.
In a related move, a group of seven DP lawmakers filed a petition with the
Constitutional Court on Sunday seeking to nullify the GNP's unilateral move to
ratify the KORUS FTA bill.
"The opposition parties should now return to the dialogue table. That's what the
people want and fits into parliamentary democracy," said Park of the GNP.
"This will be the last chance for dialogue," he said.
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