ID :
38244
Wed, 12/31/2008 - 09:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/38244
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) Parliamentary speaker attempts final mediation
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; MODIFIES throughout)
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly speaker urged party leaders to
make final efforts at reconciliation Wednesday in an apparent bid to prevent
potentially violent clashes in parliament on New Year's eve.
Security guards mobilized by the Assembly speaker have been blockading the
parliament since late Tuesday and are preparing to forcefully expel opposition
party lawmakers who have been occupying the legislature's main chamber in protest
against government-led bills.
President Lee Myung-bak's party has vowed to unilaterally pass dozens of pending
bills, including a motion to ratify a free trade deal with the United States,
after marathon negotiations with its largest opponent ruptured Tuesday.
"I ask party leaders to gather in my room this afternoon and make another attempt
to reach an agreement," Parliamentary Speaker Kim Hyong-o said. "All must be wise
to save the country."
Kim demanded the opposition lawmakers empty his office by noon to allow the
meeting to take place.
Both the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and the ruling Grand National
Party (GNP) said they need more time before deciding whether to accept his
proposal.
Kim was forced to invoke his authority as speaker on Tuesday, requesting
assistance from law enforcement authorities to break up a sit-in by the main
opposition so that pending bills can be put to a vote.
Dozens of DP lawmakers stayed up all night camped out at the Assembly main hall
and the Assembly speaker's office, conducting drills to prevent themselves from
being "dragged out" by guards. A "human chain" will be formed around the
speaker's podium to stop him from opening a vote, the party said.
A massive clash is anticipated between more than 100 security officials and all
83 DP lawmakers if Kim's mediating effort fails.
The liberal DP is seeking to prevent the conservative ruling party from passing a
US$30 billion free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States and other
market-oriented bills, including media ownership deregulation. The party says
South Korea should wait until the U.S. Congress approves the FTA before voting on
the legislation.
Occupying the main chamber is the party's last-ditch attempt to stop its ruling
rival, which controls 172 seats in the 299-member unicameral house, from
unilaterally passing the bills. The DP holds 83 seats.
The sit-in also threatens to deepen South Korea's economic paralysis as the
country is on the verge of its first recession in a decade. Dozens of crucial
economic rescue plans have been held hostage amid the partisan conflict.
Of the more than 2,600 bills that have been introduced to the legislature since
it convened in May, fewer than 300 have been voted on so far. Some 300 will be
automatically discarded at the end of 2008.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly speaker urged party leaders to
make final efforts at reconciliation Wednesday in an apparent bid to prevent
potentially violent clashes in parliament on New Year's eve.
Security guards mobilized by the Assembly speaker have been blockading the
parliament since late Tuesday and are preparing to forcefully expel opposition
party lawmakers who have been occupying the legislature's main chamber in protest
against government-led bills.
President Lee Myung-bak's party has vowed to unilaterally pass dozens of pending
bills, including a motion to ratify a free trade deal with the United States,
after marathon negotiations with its largest opponent ruptured Tuesday.
"I ask party leaders to gather in my room this afternoon and make another attempt
to reach an agreement," Parliamentary Speaker Kim Hyong-o said. "All must be wise
to save the country."
Kim demanded the opposition lawmakers empty his office by noon to allow the
meeting to take place.
Both the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and the ruling Grand National
Party (GNP) said they need more time before deciding whether to accept his
proposal.
Kim was forced to invoke his authority as speaker on Tuesday, requesting
assistance from law enforcement authorities to break up a sit-in by the main
opposition so that pending bills can be put to a vote.
Dozens of DP lawmakers stayed up all night camped out at the Assembly main hall
and the Assembly speaker's office, conducting drills to prevent themselves from
being "dragged out" by guards. A "human chain" will be formed around the
speaker's podium to stop him from opening a vote, the party said.
A massive clash is anticipated between more than 100 security officials and all
83 DP lawmakers if Kim's mediating effort fails.
The liberal DP is seeking to prevent the conservative ruling party from passing a
US$30 billion free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States and other
market-oriented bills, including media ownership deregulation. The party says
South Korea should wait until the U.S. Congress approves the FTA before voting on
the legislation.
Occupying the main chamber is the party's last-ditch attempt to stop its ruling
rival, which controls 172 seats in the 299-member unicameral house, from
unilaterally passing the bills. The DP holds 83 seats.
The sit-in also threatens to deepen South Korea's economic paralysis as the
country is on the verge of its first recession in a decade. Dozens of crucial
economic rescue plans have been held hostage amid the partisan conflict.
Of the more than 2,600 bills that have been introduced to the legislature since
it convened in May, fewer than 300 have been voted on so far. Some 300 will be
automatically discarded at the end of 2008.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
