Assembly to deal with public fund bill Thursday

The ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), holding a joint policy consultative committee on Wednesday, reached a broad consensus on dealing with the administration-proposed bill governing the second round of public fund injections, as they agreed earlier.

The two sides also concurred on the legislation of the public fund management law in conjunction with the parliamentary consent to the public fund motion. MDP chief policy maker Lee Hae-Chan told reporters after the committee meeting that the scale of the proposed public funds and the contents of the public fund management law would be decided at a sub-panel of the Assembly Finance-Economy Committee.

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Shin Kook-Hwan said at the Commerce, Industry, and Energy Committee in the day that his ministry planned to privatize one state-run enterprise, a reference to the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and continue the privatization of state-owned firms on a gradual basis in light of the possible impact on the economy.

Referring to some GNP lawmakers' opposition to the power industry restructuring program, Minister Shin countered that the cancellation of the privatization plan would do more harm than good under the present circumstances, as the implementation of the plan will take a long time and could invite misunderstandings. GNP president Lee Hoi-Chang said in connection with the public funds that his party was to deal with related measures at the Assembly plenary session on Thursday, but if their deliberations are delayed, the postponement of their depositions would be inevitable.