Lee urges national harmony after Kim's funeral

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak called for greater efforts to
establish harmony and social integration in the country Monday, saying that is
what the late former President Kim Dae-jung had wished to achieve even while on
his death bed.

"Learning a lesson from the life and death of the late former president is the
task left for us," the president said in his biweekly national radio address.
"Now is time to end the era of confrontation. We must open an era of
integration," Lee added.
The call comes amid a political rift that was deepened by the unilateral passage
of controversial revisions to media-related laws by the ruling Grand National
Party late last month.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has since held daily street rallies,
halting them only after former President Kim died Tuesday of pneumonia-related
complications. The DP claims the government-backed legislation seeks to
streamline and control the country's major news outlets.
Lee urged the political parties to quickly mend their differences and support the
national movement toward integration.
"I once again ask the ruling and opposition parties to put their heads together
for bipartisan efforts," he said.
"I, the president, will stand in the forefront of efforts to overcome the
political and economic polarizations. And I will certainly undertake political
reforms that are absolutely necessary for integration," the president added.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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