(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Jan. 13) - Assembly reform

Following the National Assembly's recent chaos, heated debates on Assembly reform
are underway inside and outside of the legislature.
Suggestions from scholars, civic groups and apologetic lawmakers include a
drastic cut in the number of representatives, abolition of the proportional
representation system and the introduction of recall measures.
Public resentment was almost at breaking point when it was learned that the floor
leaders of the three major parties - which had so violently clashed in the
Assembly -were scheduled to tour the United States and Mexico later this week on
taxpayers' money.
Hong Joon-pyo of the Grand National Party, Won Hye-young of the Democratic Party
and Kwon Sun-taek of the Liberty Forward Party canceled the tour in the face of
searing criticism, but only after they appeared together in a comedy program on
KBS-TV.
They may have been persuaded by the producers of the program, who must have
emphasized the need to tell the people that politicians do not remain enemies
even though parties fight in the Assembly.
We already know that our Assemblymen socialize among themselves. This tradition
only shows how alienated the political society is from the people.
Rep. Kang Ki-kap, leader of the Democratic Labor Party, made an "apology to the
nation" for his Rambo-style actions in protesting the Assembly guards' forcible
removal of his colleagues from the Rotunda Hall, where they were staging a
sit-in.
However, no leaders or members of larger parties apologized for what happened
last week or for the overall failure in their legislative function. The number of
bills passed by the end of the first regular session was the lowest in Korea's
parliamentary history.
Under these circumstances, arguments calling for reducing the number of Assembly
seats or discontinuing the proportional representation system sound rather
irrelevant.
What the Korean electorate hopes for at the moment is a total change in the
behavior of their representatives, having elected them last April with the
innocent expectation that they would make good laws and properly guide the new
administration.
More directly, they want the replacement of all the lawmakers they saw on TV
wielding tools and other objects to destroy Assembly facilities and engaging in
altercations between themselves or with Assembly guards.
The National Assembly, which has established the recall system for local
government, however, has not introduced similar disqualifying measures for
themselves. There is no way constituents can remove erring lawmakers until they
serve out their four-year term under the present Constitution.
People's memories are short in these busy times. By the time next general
elections are held, most voters may have forgotten who wielded a sledge hammer or
who used an electric saw to break open doors in the Assembly in the winter of
2008 and how the Main Chamber was made to look like a shelter for the homeless at
the beginning of 2009.
Actions should be taken now, but the poor electorate of Korea can do little
except for signing up to a campaign started by a group of lawyers to collect a
million signatures calling for legislation to introduce a recall system for
lawmakers.
The members of the 18th National Assembly should learn from their mistakes and do
something to make a change. Then some of their grave acts of betrayal may be
forgiven.
(END)