(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on June 24)

Absence of compromise
Lawmakers should work together to tackle urgent bills

Political standoffs between ruling and opposition parties in South Korea are
notorious. Their violent confrontations at the National Assembly have become the
order of the day. Majority parties have tended to railroad bills through the
Assembly without making any compromise with minority parties. It has been common
for legislators to use fists and kicks in a bid to block the passage of
contentious bills.
People still vividly remember the TV footage of opposition Democratic Party (DP)
lawmakers wielding a sledgehammer, crowbars and chisels to knock down the doors
of a blocked room at the Assembly building where legislators of the governing
Grand National Party (GNP) were holding a committee meeting last December. It is
a shame that lawmakers have continued to resort to violence and sit-ins without
narrowing their differences over thorny issues.
The GNP and the DP agreed in January to end the confrontation and normalize the
operation of the Assembly through dialogue and compromise. The GNP pledged to
refrain from railroading more than 80 pending bills, including a Korea-U.S. free
trade agreement (FTA), while DP members promised to cooperate on smooth Assembly
operations. But they appear to have been just paying lip service, reneging on the
democratic way of finding a compromised solution.
The governing GNP is now trying to convene an extra Assembly session unilaterally
as early as this week, with the DP and other minority parties turning down the
session. GNP lawmakers have decided to open the session to pass urgent bills,
including an amendment to the law on the protection of part-time and casual
workers. But legislators of the DP and other splinter parties have threatened to
boycott the Assembly if President Lee Myung-bak and his party refuse to meet five
preconditions for the ad hoc session.
The preconditions include Lee's apology for the suicide of former President Roh
Moo-hyun, a change in his heavy-handed way of governing, and a parliamentary
inspection of what they call a politically motivated investigation into a bribery
scandal involving Roh and his family. In a nutshell, the opposition parties are
attempting to turn the tables in their favor by exploiting rising public
sentiment against the Lee administration in the wake of Roh's May 23 suicide.
It is regrettable that the ruling and opposition parties have failed to narrow
their differences, touching off a new political standoff. Much to the dismay of
the public, the boycotting of the National Assembly becomes the norm among
lawmakers who do not know how to compromise with each other. South Koreans are
already fed up with dog-eat-dog partisan struggles and factional feuds.
It is necessary for President Lee and GNP lawmakers to do more to open their
minds and embrace opposition parties in order to promote social integration and
national harmony. Opposition legislators are also required to refrain from making
irrational demands and go back to the Assembly to break the deadlock by sitting
at the table. It would be better for both sides to stop their partisan
confrontation and move toward bipartisanship to help the country get out of the
global economic crisis and cope with geopolitical risks arising from North
Korea's nuclear brinkmanship.
(END)