Conservative lawmakers sound off against violence in parliament

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's conservative lawmakers blasted their
liberal counterparts Wednesday for staging violent protests at the National
Assembly, threatening to amend laws to oust legislators that paralyze the
parliament by force.

The country's parliament returned to normal on Wednesday after opposition parties
ended a 12-day sit-in protest to begin processing dozens of bills the ruling
party says are needed to steer the country through the economic slump.
Democratic Party (DP) members had barricaded themselves in parliament, claiming
the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) could use its majority force to push
through laws. The GNP holds 172 seats in the 299-member parliament, compared with
82 for the DP.
"We promise to fix the law to prevent the National Assembly from becoming a stage
of violence again," Hong Joon-pyo, GNP floor leader, said in a meeting of the
party's supreme council, describing the protests as "Hollywood actions."
He also vowed to refer future such incidents to prosecutors to punish lawmakers
who resort to violence.
Park Hee-tae, the GNP leader, also stressed that parliamentary violence must be
"put to trial" by the people.
Throughout South Korea's history, opposition lawmakers have frequently resorted
to sit-in protests to block legislation and violent clashes involving
sledgehammers and fire extinguishers in parliament are not unusual.
Lee Hoi-chang, head of the ultra-conservative Liberty Forward Party, also labeled
the DP as a "loser that trampled upon the spirit of parliamentary democracy."
He said that the Democratic Party tainted the nation's reputation by resorting to
brute force and using sledgehammers and power saws in the National Assembly to
achieve its goal.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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