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POLITICAL EVENTSJanuary 2009Speaker promises 'no direct vote' Opposition defies security guards' efforts to evict (Jan 2009) Grand National Party floor leader Hong Joon-pyo passes police on his way to the National Assembly’s main building yesterday. The legislative standstill continues after failed attempts by security guards to end the Democratic Party’s occupation of the main chamber. [NEWSIS] After six attempts to remove opposition party officials from the National Assembly’s main lobby this weekend, National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-o on 4 Jan pleaded with the demonstrators to leave. In return, he promised not to directly introduce controversial bills for a vote.Beginning Saturday afternoon, the National Assembly Secretariat mobilized 140 security guards to remove Democratic and Democratic Labor party officials from the National Assembly building in an attempt to clear the way to the main chamber. Democratic Party lawmakers have occupied the chamber since Dec. 26 to block all voting sessions. On 3 Jan, Speaker Kim mobilized the guards to restore order. Four attempts were made that day, but only a few Democrats were removed amid fierce resistance. Some 53 guards were injured, with three hospitalized. Two more attempts came on 4 Jan, but the guards were outnumbered by opposition party officials. About 50 security guards scuffled with 200 Democratic Party officials. At the Assembly’s request, some 900 police officers blocked unauthorized entry to the legislature’s main building. Democratic Chairman Chung Sye-kyun said on 4 Jan that the largest opposition party will end its occupation of the chamber if Kim promises not to open a voting session. With 82 lawmakers, the Democratic Party fears the GNP will use its 172-seat majority to ram through bills on the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement and media reform measures. Kim appeared to have accepted Chung’s demand. “As National Assembly speaker, I have refrained from directly introducing bills for voting, and I will continue to do so,” he said in a statement on 4 Jan. Kim’s aide said the remark means Kim will not introduce bills until Thursday, the extra session’s last day. “Before the end of today, anyone who is not a lawmaker must leave the National Assembly’s main building,” Kim said. “This is the last warning.” The Grand National Party held an emergency meeting yesterday as the speaker appeared to give in to Democrats. “We have decided to sit down with the opposition parties for negotiations if they end the violent occupation of the legislature,” said GNP spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party filed a petition with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on 4 Jan to investigate Kim, National Police chief Eo Cheong-soo and other senior National Assembly officials on charges of obstructing duty and abusing their power. (Source: Joongang Daily.) Police and protesters clash at weekend rally -- 3,000 people light candles to protest ruling party's attempt to pass 85 controversial bills (Jan 2009) Police arrested 32 civilians over the weekend for staging a "candlelight protest" against the ruling Grand National Party's unilateral push to put 85 contentious bills to a vote before the close of the extraordinary session on Thursday and parliamentary security guards' forcible dispersal of Democratic Party lawmakers who opposed it. The civic group Emergency People's Action to Protect Democracy and Counter Clampdown on Candlelight Protest (People's Action) and many netizens called the police's actions "excessive" and criticized them for cracking down on resistance to the GNP's plan to pass the bills without the consent of the opposition parties. About 3,000 demonstrators gathered at the National Assembly on Saturday, and reports later showed that scuffles between parliamentary security guards and sit-in protesters left some people injured. A candlelight protest was held at 7:30 p.m. Police attempted to disperse protesters at around 11 p.m., taking into custody a protester identified only by his surname Lee. The protest continued with a "candlelight walk" out of the National Assembly building and two more protesters were arrested. Protesters went to Yeoungdeungpo police station at around 4 a.m. the following day to ask for the release of their fellow protesters, but police, calling the group "illegal protesters," arrested an additional 29 people. Those arrested are being questioned at four different police stations, according to reports. One of the protesters said police arrested them after demanding dispersion only three times in 15 minutes. Kang Young-ku, a lawyer representing the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella labor union group, called the arrest "illegal," saying that police did not follow proper procedures when taking them into custody, specifically by not advising them of their Miranda rights. (SITE NOTE: This part of "Miranda rights" is hilarious. There is no such AMERICAN right in Korea. These are all the previous hard-core protestor from the "mad cow disease" fiasco of 2008 -- who are now disgraced as US beef attained #1 best selling status in Korea in Dec 2008. The politics inside the National Assembly is that the GNP was threatening to railroad 85 "essential" bills through the National Assembly, but the DP staged a violent sit-in. On 5 Jan, there was a partial shutdown of the sit-ins, but the DP still refused to cooperate with the GNP. The passage of the bills by the GNP is assured with their majority of votes, thus the DP strategy of violent disruption.) Police dispute this, saying that they followed the proper procedures and anything about the fate of those arrested is yet to be determined. People's Action held a press conference at 11 a.m. on Sunday and asked for the release of those arrested, saying, "The clock seems to be turning quickly back to the dictatorship era because police arrested people who were expressing their opinions peacefully." The civic group held a "candlelight cultural event" at 7 p.m. on the same day and plans to carry out an "emergency action" on Tuesday to prevent the contentious bills from passing through parliament before the extraordinary session ends on 8 Jan. (Source: Hankyoreh.) (SITE NOTE: Inside the National Assembly the leftist protest guru Rep. Kang Ki-gap was jumping up on tables in his hanbook to attempt to escape being removed physically by guards.) Parties reach agreement on voting on key bills (Jan 2009) South Korea's rival parties struck an agreement on 6 Jan to end a voting standoff over hotly contested bills including a free trade deal with the U.S., raising hopes that parliament will get back to normal after a three-week paralysis. At a meeting earlier in the day, partisan negotiators bridged differences on when to vote on ratifying the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) and some 80 other government-initiated bills as the National Assembly's extraordinary session nears its end. (Source: Yonhap News.) (SITE NOTE: Jan-May 2009: After the DLP and MDP were defanged, the politics have been rather bland. Besides the intermittent tantrums, the first months of 2009 were relatively peaceful. Perhaps it was the threat of Lee Myeong-bak going after the dissidents full-bore that made politicians keep a low profile. In addition, the problems of Roh Moo-hyun kept many politicians quiet as they did not want to be drawn into the former President's troubles. Between Jan-May, politics in Korea was rather boring. In Apr 2009, the by-elections was a major defeat for the GNP, but it was not altogether unexpected as many of the seats were in non-GNP strongholds -- with once sidelined Roh cronies once again showing up.) May 2009Park pulls constitutional rabbit out of hat (May 2009) Resurgent talk of a constitutional revision is setting the new stage for a power game among political conservatives. Park Geun-hye, leader of the smaller faction in the Grand National Party, last week reasserted her support for changing the current single, five-year presidential term to allow a president to serve two successive four-year terms and let presidential and parliamentary elections take place simultaneously. National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o also expressed hopes that political parties will begin the revision debate in earnest around the July 17 Constitutional Day. (SITE NOTE: This proposal for four-year terms was proposed by Roh Moo-hyun at the end of his term in office -- though it had been around for years. The five-year presidency requirement ensures that the President in his last year in office is a lame duck with no power to affect any change.)The proposal is not new. Politicians widely agree that the tenure limitation hinders the long-term implementation of policies and has often caused early lame-duck status for a president. The current constitution, resulting from a 1987 amendment, has also been criticized for concentrating too much power in the chief executive. A shift to a parliamentary government or a presidential-parliamentary dual cabinet system has been proposed. Park's remark, however, took on politically sensitive overtones as it came at a time of power struggles within the ruling party. Observers say she apparently intends to use the constitutional revision as the central aspect in her challenge to President Lee Myung-bak and GNP mainstreamers in the lead up to the next presidential election in 2012. (SITE NOTE: The wounds between Park and Lee Myeong-bak run very deep and are unhealed. The GNP proposed in May for Park's party leader to be Speaker for the GNP, but was refused for "idealogical" differences according to Park. The split between Park and LMB are terminally dead-ended. Though we are foreigners, we have been Park Geun-hye fans from way back after she single-handedly brought the GNP back from the brink of oblivion after the fiasco of the Roh Moo-hyun impeachment.) Park is an undisputable frontrunner among potential presidential candidates in the GNP and broad conservative political circles. She was defeated by Lee in a bitter primary race for the 2007 election. Her faction has since been alienated by Lee and GNP leaders in terms of government and party posts, plus candidate nominations for parliamentary elections. Factional strife boiled up again ahead of the April 29 by-elections. The president's elder brother Lee Sang-deuk, a GNP bigwig, pressured one of Park's close associates to give up candidacy. He refused, ran independently and beat his GNP rival. Calls for reconciliation between the two factions have mounted since the GNP lost in all five parliamentary contests last month. In response, GNP leaders floated a proposal to select Park's key aide Kim Moo-sung as next floor leader. Unexpectedly, Park rejected the offer. During her visit to the United States last week, she denounced the GNP leaders in front of reporters for passing responsibility for the electoral debacle to her faction. Her remark on the constitution came during a lecture at Stanford University just after the meeting with the press on Wednesday. Answering a question from the floor, Park said the basic law should be changed so that the presidential and parliamentary elections be conducted simultaneously. The presidential election currently takes place once every five years and the parliamentary vote once every four. During a news conference in San Francisco on Saturday, she reaffirmed that she has consistently supported the constitutional change. 2012 is the best time for such a change with the next presidential election due in December and the parliamentary election in April. It is the year for both elections, which comes once in 20 years under the current disparity in presidential and parliamentary terms. However, if it is to happen, Lee will have to shorten his term by several months. An unwritten consensus is that any constitutional extension of a presidential term does not apply to the incumbent. Many politicians believe Park is seeking to take the driver's seat in the amendment campaign and rally political forces behind the cause down the road. Overhauling the political power structure was proposed by former President Roh Moo-hyun a year before the 2007 election. All opposition parties rebuffed it. Many, including Park, agreed with him in principle but thought the timing was not right. Park even called him "a very bad president" for trying to use the issue for electoral gains. The Asssembly speaker revived the matter last year, pledging to achieve revision before his two-year term ends in mid-2010. But his proposal was quickly put on the back burner with parties preoccupied with a series of contentious bills and the economic crisis. An experts group commissioned by the National Assembly has submitted draft reports to the speaker for revision in early April. By co-opting the constitutional card, Park appears to be aiming to tip the GNP power balance in her favor. She is expected to use the constitutional change as a rallying point among conservative forces who feel they have been alienated by the Lee administration. In addition, the revision is already widely supported by the public and politicians from across the ideological spectrum. To conduct elections under a new Constitution, revision should be achieved in the first half of 2011, so that parties can begin processes for candidate selection in the latter half. That means political parties should begin debate in the second half of this year or the first half of 2010, given the necessary parliamentary processes and referendum will take more than one year. It is unclear whether President Lee and his allies will back the constitutional change. But if the GNP mainstream falters again in by-elections this October and local elections in June next year, Park could expect to gain momentum for her big-ticket gamble which would enhance her chances of gaining the GNP leadership and its presidential candidacy. Park is drawing a grand picture, in which her rivals' fence-mending overtures, including sharing some party posts, look trivial, observers say. (Source: Korea Herald.) (SITE NOTE: Three lawmakers from a minor opposition party lost parliamentary seats yesterday after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court's prison sentence and conviction of illegal political donations. The ruling reduced Pro-Park Alliance's parliamentary slots from eight to five and dealt a serious blow to its ethical credentials. The party was created by former Grand National Party members close to Park Geun-hye, leader of the party's minority faction, after they were denied candidacy for National Assembly elections last year. Many of the splinter group returned to the GNP after the votes. Some, however, were rejected due to their involvement in the funding scandal. The others refused to come back in protest against the GNP's selective permit of admission. The highest court reaffirmed guilty verdict for party co-leader Suh Chung-won and two legislators, Yang Jeong-rye and Kim Noh-sik. The court judged that Suh received a total of 3.21 billion won ($2.5 million) in exchange for nominating them as its candidates for proportional representation seats. The judge rejected the party's claim that it was a legitimate borrowing. A lawmaker is deprived of parliamentary seat in case he or she receives 1 million won in fines or heavier sentence for violation of the election law. In August last year, Suh was sentenced to one and a half years in jail. Yang received a suspended sentence of 10 months in jail and Kim a one-year jail term. Yang's mother Kim Soon-ae was handed down a one-year jail term for offering the money to Suh on behalf of her daughter. New by-elections will be held in October to fill the vacancies. (SEE Politics: 2008 for details of scandal over the proportional seat.)) June 2009GNP may convene Assembly unilaterally (Jun 2009) The ruling Grand National Party plans to hold a meeting of its lawmakers today to decide whether to convene a June extra parliamentary session without opposition parties. The move comes more than three weeks after the scheduled opening date of the National Assembly's extraordinary session.With the sudden suicide of the now-deceased former President Roh Moo-hyun, the 84-member main opposition Democratic Party has been refusing to attend the session unless the current Lee Myung-bak administration and the majority GNP accepts its preconditions. The GNP has 170 of the National Assembly's 299 seats, three of which will be empty until by-elections in October, as their holders were stripped of their status after being convicted of election law violations. The DP has been demanding an apology from President Lee for causing Roh's suicide and calling for an independent inquiry into how a bribery investigation into the former president had proceeded. "We will hold a party caucus to decide on the convening of the National Assembly today. If we vote on going ahead with the GNP-attended parliamentary session, it will begin on Thursday," said GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo. However, a GNP-only parliamentary session will likely trigger another battle, possibly a physical one, as the DP say it will not allow such a move. "Going into such a parliamentary session is the same as surrendering, which neglects the meaning of an opposition party," said DP deputy floor leader Woo Yoon-keun. Whether the extra ordinary session could open this month or it will move onto next month as some observers predict, what is expected to be the most fiercely disputed bill upon many others is the media-related bill. The bill is expected to lift some decades-old restrictions on newspapers and conglomerates in the television business. While the GNP claims passing of the bill could help revive the economy, opponents, including the DP, argue that the amendment would pave the way for major conservative newspapers and large businesses to dominate the media landscape. Earlier last week, the activities of a 20-member media development discussion group, affiliated with the parliamentary culture, broadcasting and communications committee, ended abruptly after major political parties failed to agree on changes to the media law. The main opposition party proposed a nationwide survey to get the public's response, which the ruling party called unnecessary, as both main parties have already agreed to pass it during the scheduled parliamentary session. "After more than three months of discussions, the GNP and the DP made an agreement to pass the media law in the June parliamentary session," said GNP lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who is the GNP ranking member in the committee. "The media development discussion group held 18 meetings and seven public hearings, which were attended by 55 experts. I believe these processes were part of the public opinion gathering phase." Rep. Jun Byung-hun of the DP, however, said that members of the main opposition party will consider all possible measures to prevent the GNP from passing the bill without their approval. "The GNP is currently against organizing the public survey because they know citizens are not supportive of the media law," he said. "If the GNP refuses to hammer out an agreement on holding a survey by Thursday, the discussion group will have to put an absolute stop to its activities." In a related event, the DP will announce the results of a self-conducted survey today, which was expected to consult least 1,000 adults on the media-related bills. (Source: Korea Herald.) July 2009DLP launches a campaign to impeach President Lee (Jul 2009)The minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) launched the Campaign Center for Lee Myung-Bak Regime’s Resignation on Monday. The party says the Center will drive a signature-seeking campaign for impeaching President Lee. The campaign for impeaching Lee stems from the statement adopted at the party convention for policies in Busan on June 21. The content of the statement resolves that the party will work on campaigning for the resignation of the Lee administration.DLP Spokesman Woo Wee-Young said, “Because impeachment is the one and only legal means a political party has for bringing the administration down, we decided to adopt this procedure.” The DLP plans to seek 10 million signatures by the end of this year or before next year’s nationwide local elections. The party is going to hold a rally urging the administration to resign on July 2 in Seoul. It will also launch an on-the-street campaign and will be canvassing neighborhoods. The DLP is currently seeking solidarity among the four oppositions parties and non-governmental organizations and has its lawmakers and leadership give lectures and tour around the country. The DLP is also considering the development of a website to collect signatures for impeachment and encourage netizen participation in the campaign. (Source: Hankyoreh.) (SITE NOTE: Same old thing -- starting trouble during the hot summer protest season to score some points. Currently the National Assembly locked up due to media and labor issues with same old barricading of doors and complete shutdown of business.) Political parties continue to clash over irregular workers bill (Jul 2009) The ruling and opposition parties remained at loggerheads Tuesday, possibly heading for a physical clash over a government-backed revision of the law on non-regular workers. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) blocked the entrance to the main hall of the National Assembly, fearing the governing party may try to legislate the bill unilaterally, a move that has led to two physical clashes between the rival parties since late last year. "There is a rumor that the GNP will try to enter the main hall before midnight. We must have all of your support here today," DP's vice floor leader Woo Yoon-keun told party lawmakers at the Assembly hall. Under the current law, enacted at the beginning of July 2007, companies can employ workers on a non-regular basis for up to a maximum of two years. After the two years, they either have to lay off the non-regular workers or promote their status to official employees, which could significantly increase their labor costs. The proposed revision by the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) seeks to extend the time limit to four years. Some 5.5 million workers are currently employed on a non-regular basis here. "There are numerous people who wish to work even on a non-regular basis and many businesses that wish to hire them. We will be faced with a very sad situation starting tomorrow where people will be fired unless the revision is passed," GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo said. The DP says it will only agree to a six-month deferment, during which the sides must work out a solution for the non-regular workers, who in many cases get as little as half of what regular employees earn. "We can convince the workers (to agree to the revision) only if we say we will work to reduce the number of non-regular workers and improve their status," Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the DP told the GNP whip in a meeting. Choo, the chairwoman of the Assembly committee on environment and labor, has rejected the ruling party's demand to put the revision bill to a vote, citing the lack of consensus between the rival parties. The GNP has also asked Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o to invoke his authority and call a vote without a committee report, but he has already refused two similar requests since the ruling party began pushing for the revision late last year. Kim, a former member of the GNP, said Tuesday that he was closely following the last minute negotiations between the rival parties, but added he was still opposed to railroading the bill. GNP officials have said the party was willing to rewrite the proposed revision if the opposition agrees to legislate the bill before the time runs out, but that there will be no concessions if the opposition continues to block its passage. (Source: Yonhap News.) Sit-in continues at National Assembly (Jul 2009) Despite National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o's strong warnings against a sit-in in the main chamber, lawmakers of major political parties continued to occupy it yesterday. The rival parties formed groups to make rotations throughout the day to watch each other, fearing that either side may take over the Assembly speaker's seat in an attempt to pass or block the passage of controversial bills being pushed by the ruling Grand National Party. With observers calling the situation a comedy, prospects for negotiation and dialogue looked dim, as the GNP and the main opposition Democratic Party both insisted that they would end their sit-ins if the other side gave up. "We believe the ruling party's reason for occupying the main chamber is to prepare for the passage of the media-related bills that would take place within the next few days," said DP floor leader Lee Kang-rae. "Acknowledging this misbehavior, we can't just let it pass by." GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo stressed that the DP was prepared to resort to violent methods to take the chamber. "The only way to normalize the operations of the parliament is to pass the media-related bills, which is what we've promised earlier to the citizens," he said. GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae also asked its lawmakers to endure and overcome the physical difficulties they are currently facing to pass the bills. As both political parties show no willingness for any flexibility over the controversial bills, the sit-ins are projected to continue through the end of the parliamentary session, which is next Saturday. In an afternoon meeting held between Speaker Kim and the floor leaders of the rival parties, Kim suggested extending the parliamentary session until July 31 based on the condition that they will put the media-related bills to a floor vote by then. But the DP floor leader turned it down, saying that a conclusion should be reached by having the political parties reach common ground through their discussions. What is surfacing as a possible solution, however, is former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye's proposal regarding the media bill - limiting the market share of a single company to 30 percent of terrestrial broadcasting, general television channels and news-only cable channels. "It would be favorable for the governing party and the opposition parties to hammer out an agreement and it could be done in a rational way," the former GNP chairwoman said. She added that the nation could promote diversity of the media and root out the possibility of a single company's monopoly of the market if the limitation in market share was made. The DP and the minor opposition Renewal Korea Party welcomed Park's statement, stating that it could be discussed further. "We highly value the fact that she called for an agreement over the issue and we hope the GNP also supports her proposal and takes actions accordingly," said Lee Kang-rae of the DP. Rep. Lee Yong-kyung of the RKP said the party was in favor of Park's suggestion but added that a survey on the status of the media industry must be conducted first. (Source: Korea Herald.) Ex-Chairwoman Opposes GNP’s Media Bill Passage (Jul 2009) The governing Grand National Party (GNP)'s plan to put a set of disputed media bills to a vote this week hit a stumbling block Sunday after Rep. Park Geun-hye, the party's former chairwoman, expressed opposition to the unilateral passage of them. Rep. Park said she would cast a dissenting vote if the Assembly's plenary session deals with the bills. Park's remarks came as the governing party indicated that it will move the bills ? purportedly aimed at reshaping the media industry _ forward to a National Assembly vote this week, despite fervent protests from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). Political analysts said her position is expected to aggravate the GNP's internal rift between the pro-Lee Myung-bak and pro-Park factions. While the DP welcomed Park's decision, some GNP officials worried that it may act as an impediment to the party's plan to ask National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-o to invoke his authority and call a vote on the bills. ``We will ask Kim to put the bills to a vote today and terminate the protracted parliamentary deadlock," said GNP floor leader Rep. Ahn Sang-soo at a press conference at the Assembly. Ahn will meet with his DP counterpart Rep. Lee Kang-rae at 10:00 a.m. today for final negotiations. Meanwhile, DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun said that he will conduct a fast in protest against the governing party's intention to railroad the media bills. He also proposed a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak. ``My protest is the last resort to block the abuse of power by the governing party. I will continue to fast until the GNP withdraws its plan to railroad the bills,'' Chung said. ``As the leader of the main opposition party, I would like to talk with President Lee regarding the media bills as well as administrative reform measures." However, prospects for such a meeting are unclear, with a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman urging the National Assembly to seek a resolution of the stalemate on its own. The DP is afraid that the GNP may take advantage of its majority at the Assembly to railroad the bills. The governing party has 170 seats in the 299-member legislature, while the DP has 85 and has vowed to block any unilateral voting on the bills. ``The GNP is undermining the proper procedure as dictated in the National Assembly Law in order to railroad the media bills, which are opposed by 70 percent of the public," DP spokesman Noh Young-min said. Speaker Kim, a former governing party lawmaker, urged negotiators of the rival parties to settle the agenda for today's plenary session. At the request of the governing party, the National Assembly will hold plenary sessions for five days this week. The current extraordinary parliamentary session will conclude July 25. A regular session is scheduled for September. The National Assembly Secretariat limited unauthorized access to the main hall and reinforced security measures amid concerns of physical clashes among the rival parties. More than 40 GNP legislators briefly occupied the speaker's seat Sunday morning. Since last week, the rival parties have been occupying the Assembly main chamber simultaneously to prevent parliamentary proceedings. Lawmakers have been clashing over the media bills for eight months. The GNP submitted the bills, which will enable conglomerates and print media to own up to a 20-percent stake in broadcasters. The governing party has maintained that the bills will modernize the media industry and create 25,000 new jobs. The DP claims that they will be used to control the media and will only benefit a handful of the country's major conservative newspapers and conglomerates. (Source: Korea Times.) Opposition Lawmakers Resign Over Media Reform Bills (Jul 2009) Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party Friday have decided to resign a day after asking the Constitutional Court to nullify media reform bills passed by the ruling Grand National Party. The lawmakers made the decision in a meeting at the National Assembly, saying the passage of the bills through “illegal” procedures is invalid and that they will risk everything to fight for nullification. They handed their resignations to party chairman Chung Sye-kyun, who did the same to National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o. The Democratic Party will also initiate a campaign to nullify the new media laws by participating in a street rally today at the square in front of Seoul Station. Chung said he will lead struggles outside of the National Assembly, while party floor leader Lee Kang-rae, who withdrew his resignation intent, will fight in parliament. (SITE NOTE: Seoul Station has become the new gathering place for protests since the police have in effect shut down any protest attempt in the Seoul Plaza at City Hall. Support has only been from the party loyals and hasn't aroused any grassroots support.) Democratic Party lawmakers will maintain their parliamentary seats until Speaker Kim accepts their resignations, while protesting the passage of the media bills. On an individual level, Democratic Party lawmaker and former president of Munhwa Broadcasting Company Choi Moon-soon tendered his resignation to the speaker, following fellow party lawmaker Chun Jung-bae. Ruling party floor leader Ahn Sang-soo blasted the Democratic Party for hurting Korea’s national image and harming the people, accusing it of disregarding National Assembly law and dividing the country. The National Assembly extraordinary session, which opened on June 26, has technically ended with no session scheduled for the last day Saturday (1 Aug). The session passed just nine bills, including one on extending Korea’s troop deployment to Lebanon. Four other bills including those on media reform were railroaded through by the ruling party. The handling of other highly disputed bills, including ones on temporary workers and loan sharks, has been postponed until the regular session in September. (Source: Donga Ilbo.) October 2009 Ruling Party Bigwig Speaks on Sejong City Project (Oct 2009) Ruling Grand National Party heavyweight Park Geun-hye yesterday partially backed off from her insistence on sticking to the original plan to build Sejong City, the proposed administrative district in the country’s central region. “The plan to build Sejong City as a national administrative center is a promise to the public and residents of the Chungcheong provinces made by the National Assembly, not by an individual. My suggestion (on additions to the original plan) should not be downgraded as having been motivated by the political convictions of one individual,” she told reporters at the Buddhist temple of Haeunjeong in Busan Saturday. This came after she said Oct. 23, "The original plan must be pursued, and any changes the government deems necessary must be a ‘plus alpha’ on the original, not a subtraction." On Prime Minister Chung Un-chan’s plans to revise the project, Park, the former head of the ruling party, said, “He seems unaware of the severity of the parliamentary democratic system and the great weight a promise to the public carries.” “I heard that Sejong City will be a ghost town if the plan is carried out as the government now proceeds. By that logic, it seems like the Grand National Party has pledged to thoroughly deliver on its promises on the city on a number of occasions including by-, general and presidential elections just to garner votes. But that’s not true.” Park said the concept of a multi-functional administrative city literally pursues self-sufficiency supported by functions such as culture, education and technology. “The original plan should be carried out and improvements should be made as ‘plus alpha,’ if needed. It is undesirable for the government to break its original promise,” she added. (Source: Donga Ilbo.) Feud Grows Over Sejong City Project (Oct 2009) Rep. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) made it clear last week that the plan to relocate nine ministries and four government agencies should go ahead as planned without modifications. Her statement embarrassed President Lee Myung-bak and Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, indicating a possible source of friction inside the governing camp. Without support from Park followers, it would be difficult for the GNP to pass a bill to change the status of Sejong City, 120 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at the National Assembly. The governing party would be unable to meet the quorum needed to pass it. About 50 lawmakers inside the GNP, which commands 169 parliamentary seats out of the 299-member National Assembly, are considered followers of the former GNP chairwoman, taking up approximately a third of the ruling party. The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which has 86 parliamentary seats, and the minor Liberty Forward Party (LFP) with 17 seats, have also called for implementing the plan as scheduled. Other minor parties sided with the two opposition parties, indicating that more lawmakers oppose the plan. ``It is not my personal commitment. The National Assembly approved the relocation plan,'' Park said Saturday, a few days after Prime Minister Chung proposed a meeting with her to discuss the matter. Park, who led the GNP as chairwoman when the relocation plan got parliamentary approval in 2005, said, ``If Prime Minister Chung really wants to change the master plan, he should talk to the public, not to me.'' Chung said the relocation project is a matter involving key national interests and therefore this should be considered as a more important factor than others such as trust in determining whether or not the original plan should be altered. Political analysts speculated that the Park-Chung discord is more than trading barbs over the major national project, and that it is more of a power game between the two. Rep. Park ran unsuccessfully in the GNP primaries to select a presidential candidate to run on its ticket in 2007, becoming the runner-up to incumbent President Lee by a razor-thin margin. In polls, she is the most popular politician. Meanwhile, Chung was reportedly very much interested in running in the presidential election two years ago, but decided not to run after his ratings in polls consistently marked below 5 percent. Asked if he considered the Prime Minister position as a springboard to the top job in the 2012 presidential election, Chung said he would not run. Despite his denial, many politicians and political analysts include him on the list of aspiring presidential candidates on the GNP ticket in the next presidential election. (Source: Korea Times.) |
