Political strife no reason for Nat`l Assembly closing: MDP chairman

Kim Joong-Kwon, chairman of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), proposed Thursday that the rival parties make a public declaration that they will operate the National Assembly normally throughout the year, so that it can be a working and productive parliament.

Kim made the overture in a press conference at party headquarters in Yoido, emphasizing that the door of the Assembly should not be closed due to the political strife.

The MDP chairman positively evaluated the opposition Grand National Party's (GNP) attitude on cooperating with the MDP to tackle issues related to the people¡¯s livelihood.

He said that the MDP would push ahead with legislative activities including revision of the Labor Standard Law and improvement of the Maternity Protection Law.

He also said that the MDP would make efforts to have reform bills such as the amendment to the National Security Law, the Human Rights Law and the Basic Anti-Corruption Law passed in the Assembly.

The MDP's efforts will help set the stage for an atmosphere of cooperation in the assembly, he said.

Kim added that the party would strive to work out a budget for partial pump-priming measures to be executed at an early date, thus invigorating the construction and retail industries in provincial areas and helping small and medium-sized companies strengthen their competitiveness through informationization.

At the same time, the MDP will take steps to promote better income distribution so as to narrow the gap between the rich and poor and lower the unemployment rate, the MDP chairman said.