Parliament remains in limbo through Constitution Day

(ATTN: DELETES repetitive word in para 3; ADDS ruling party floor leader's comment
in paras 8-10)
SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- Rival parties on Friday agreed to a temporary truce to
mark the nation's 61st anniversary of its Constitution, with the opposition
suspending an ongoing sit-in at the National Assembly.

The truce may prove to be short-lived, however, as opposition lawmakers have
vowed to continue their occupation of the Assembly main hall from Saturday
morning. The event at the parliament takes place each year, attended by more
than 1,000 representatives from the government, judiciary and foreign embassies.
Legislators from both the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and main opposition
Democratic Party (DP) have been occupying the Assembly hall since Wednesday. The
DP is trying to block the ruling party from railroading a set of controversial
bills, while the GNP is defending the speaker's podium from being seized by the
opposition.
President Lee Myung-bak, a former CEO and outspoken advocate of market
principles, has sought to amend regulations on media cross-ownership and
non-regular workers since his inauguration in February last year. Lee believes
they will spur competition and bolster sectors he says are falling behind global
trends, while opposition parties call the move pro-conglomerate and oppressive of
the underprivileged.
"I once again urge parties to put behind their own interests and do what they
must do. We cannot waste any more of the people's precious time," Assembly
Speaker Kim Hyong-o said in a radio interview Friday morning.
Kim had asked party leaders Thursday to empty the Assembly hall for the
Constitution Day ceremony and proposed extending the parliamentary session until
July 31 to settle the bills before the month is up. The current Assembly session
is originally scheduled to end July 25.
The opposition DP rejected the proposal.
The ruling party floor leader again warned his party may push through the bills
without its rival's consent if the deadlock continues through the end of the
current parliamentary session.
"We are unable to move an inch due to the Democratic Party's reckless attitude,"
the floor leader, Ahn Sang-soo, said during his party's senior members' meeting
Friday. "We will decide our future course of action after discussing the issue
with minority parties."
Earlier this week, the ruling party asked the parliamentary chief, a former GNP
member, to invoke his authority and put the bills to vote should the DP continue
to boycott sessions. The ruling party controls 169 seats in the 299-member
unicameral house, enough to pass the bills on its own. The DP holds 84.
The GNP's main rival DP is strongly opposed to the proposed media reforms, which
would allow cross-ownership of print media and television broadcasters. The party
argues the measure would in effect create an oligarchy, as only three
right-leaning newspapers have the resources to enter the television industry. The
three firms already control nearly 70 percent of the country's print media
market.
The DP wants the plan completely scrapped and has turned down several revised
suggestions by its rival.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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