ID :
38786
Sun, 01/04/2009 - 21:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/38786
The shortlink copeid
(2nd LD) National Assembly speaker gives time to rival parties for compromise
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout; CHANGES headline)
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- The stand-off in the South Korean parliament took a new
twist on Sunday as its speaker promised to wait a few more days for rival parties
to resume talks on handling dozens of controversial bills.
The National Assembly's special session has been deadlocked for more than a week
with hundreds of opposition lawmakers and aides staging a sit-in to block the
ruling Grand National Party (GNP) from putting the bills up for a vote.
The tension came to a head this weekend in a fierce clash that erupted between
officials from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and security guards who
tried to end the protest. The scuffle inside the Assembly building left 53 guards
injured and one opposition lawmaker with a light arm injury, according to media
reports.
National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o said that he would not use his power during
the ongoing session to put those bills to vote without a partisan compromise.
"I have refrained from using the authority as the National Assembly speaker and I
will continue to do so. I will wait and see until the extraordinary session ends
on Jan. 8," he said in an emergency statement.
Kim added, however, that he would have no other choice but to "make a lonely
decision in front of history" if the parliamentary paralysis continues.
Kim's announcement may have brought a brief truce to what ruling and opposition
lawmakers openly describe as a "war over bills." But it is still uncertain
whether the two sides will engage in dialogue or be able to reach a deal.
The GNP, which holds 172 seats at the 299-member legislature, has called for the
speaker to put the 85 bills to vote regardless of the DP's position on them. The
DP has only 83 seats.
The contested bills include one that seeks to ratify a free trade pact with the
United States. Legislation that would remove restrictions on large companies'
investment in their affiliates, ease restrictions on investment by non-financial
firms in local banks, allow print media and other companies to enter the
broadcasting industry and expand the state intelligence agency's surveillance
authority is also on the table.
The DP claims that the bills, made at the initiative of President Lee Myung-bak,
ignore the voices of critics and those lower on the socioeconomic ladder, and say
that they will take South Korea's democracy a step backward if passed.
Earlier in the day, DP Chairman Chung Se-kyun offered an olive branch.
"If the GNP promises that it will not pass the bills by use of the assembly
speaker's power to put the bills to vote, we will stop the sit-in and start
negotiations," Chung told reporters.
Apparently in consideration of the speaker's decision, the GNP also softened its
stance.
Its chief policy coordinate Yim Tae-hee said that his party will not stick to the
Jan. 8 deadline to pass the 85 "core bills."
The next session is expected to convene in February.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- The stand-off in the South Korean parliament took a new
twist on Sunday as its speaker promised to wait a few more days for rival parties
to resume talks on handling dozens of controversial bills.
The National Assembly's special session has been deadlocked for more than a week
with hundreds of opposition lawmakers and aides staging a sit-in to block the
ruling Grand National Party (GNP) from putting the bills up for a vote.
The tension came to a head this weekend in a fierce clash that erupted between
officials from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and security guards who
tried to end the protest. The scuffle inside the Assembly building left 53 guards
injured and one opposition lawmaker with a light arm injury, according to media
reports.
National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o said that he would not use his power during
the ongoing session to put those bills to vote without a partisan compromise.
"I have refrained from using the authority as the National Assembly speaker and I
will continue to do so. I will wait and see until the extraordinary session ends
on Jan. 8," he said in an emergency statement.
Kim added, however, that he would have no other choice but to "make a lonely
decision in front of history" if the parliamentary paralysis continues.
Kim's announcement may have brought a brief truce to what ruling and opposition
lawmakers openly describe as a "war over bills." But it is still uncertain
whether the two sides will engage in dialogue or be able to reach a deal.
The GNP, which holds 172 seats at the 299-member legislature, has called for the
speaker to put the 85 bills to vote regardless of the DP's position on them. The
DP has only 83 seats.
The contested bills include one that seeks to ratify a free trade pact with the
United States. Legislation that would remove restrictions on large companies'
investment in their affiliates, ease restrictions on investment by non-financial
firms in local banks, allow print media and other companies to enter the
broadcasting industry and expand the state intelligence agency's surveillance
authority is also on the table.
The DP claims that the bills, made at the initiative of President Lee Myung-bak,
ignore the voices of critics and those lower on the socioeconomic ladder, and say
that they will take South Korea's democracy a step backward if passed.
Earlier in the day, DP Chairman Chung Se-kyun offered an olive branch.
"If the GNP promises that it will not pass the bills by use of the assembly
speaker's power to put the bills to vote, we will stop the sit-in and start
negotiations," Chung told reporters.
Apparently in consideration of the speaker's decision, the GNP also softened its
stance.
Its chief policy coordinate Yim Tae-hee said that his party will not stick to the
Jan. 8 deadline to pass the 85 "core bills."
The next session is expected to convene in February.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
