KOREA: Turmoil after GNP rams through bills

Democratic Party calls for resignation of National Assembly speaker and vice speaker, claims two of three media bills passed are invalid due to proxy voting

The Korea Herald
Thursday, July 23, 2009

By Cho Ji-hyun

The ruling Grand National Party rammed through controversial media bills with its lawmakers seizing the Assembly speaker's podium yesterday.

Assembly Vice Speaker Lee Yoon-sung, a GNP legislator, exercised the National Assembly speaker's right to call for a floor vote on the bills despite fierce objection from opposition lawmakers. Speaker Kim Hyong-o, who was absent from the plenary session, earlier delegated the right to preside to Lee.

The GNP also passed a bill that would allow non-financial firms to hold up to 9 percent of shares of a financial holding company. Currently, the ratio should not exceed 4 percent.

The main opposition Democratic Party immediately called for the resignations of Speaker Kim and Vice Speaker Lee in a resolution adopted by its lawmakers following the plenary session.

It also claimed the votes on two of the three media bills were invalid as they were held by proxy or lacked the quorum.

"I will now take the stage outside of the Assembly to protest the wrongdoings of the current Lee Myung-bak administration," said DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun.

Chung and DP floor leader Lee Kang-rae had expressed intention to discard their parliamentary seats in protest of the GNP action. A final decision will be made at a meeting of DP lawmakers today, where participants will also discuss whether to resign en masse.

The media bills, over which the rival parties had wrangled over the past eight months, would allow cross-ownership of print media and broadcasting stations. The liberal DP, along with progressive civic groups, has claimed the bills will open the way for major conservative dailies and large businesses to control the media market, while the GNP has argued they will help accelerate the development of the local media industry which it says is falling behind global standards.

The Assembly was thrown into chaos as the ruling party took over the Assembly speaker's podium earlier in the day in a bid to pass the media bills no later than yesterday.

DP officials tied the entrance doors to the main chamber with ropes and metal chains and staged a sit-in at the hall in front of the chamber to prevent additional GNP lawmakers from entering it.

At least 148 out of 294 legislators have to vote in favor of the bills for the passage, however, only about 120 GNP lawmakers were initially reported to be occupying the chamber.

But the GNP later was able to open a side door that allowed its lawmakers to enter the chamber to call a plenary meeting.

Earlier in the day, Assembly Speaker Kim announced he will invoke his authority to call for a floor vote on the media bills.

"It has become meaningless to extend the negotiation period and time has come to put an end to the controversy over the media-related bills," Kim was quoted as saying by an aide.

"As the Assembly speaker, I cannot but call a vote on the bills since a majority is asking for the passage of the bills and this is the way to secure the Assembly's principle of majority."

He added that he felt misery that the political parties had failed to work out an agreement, leaving no choice for him except for the invocation of his authority.

Parliamentary security guards were called in to maintain order at the National Assembly in the afternoon as some lawmakers and aides to legislators were injured in a physical push-pulls between the two sides, with some being hospitalized for treatment.

The clash came after the GNP began taking steps to railroad through the bills, declaring negotiations with the DP had collapsed.

Floor leaders from the parties held a seven-hour marathon meeting Tuesday only to come out it with no agreement.

Date Posted: 7/23/2009