Solidarity council of civic groups launched

Korea`s largest permanent network of nationwide civic organizations, known as the civic society organizations` meeting, was inaugurated Tuesday.

The solidarity council was launched in a general meeting at the Christian United Building in Jongro-gu, Seoul and said it would actively push for three major legislative reform efforts, the rewriting of the political party law, the political fund law and the election law; improvement of the provincial autonomy system and the civic and social organization activation system; and the revision or abolition of the national human rights committee law, the illegality and corruption prevention law and the national security law.

The solidarity council encompasses the so-called citizens` society organization solidarity council preparation committee, led by the the People`s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), and Korea Citizens Organization Council, headed by the Citizens` Coalition for Economic Justice. The former has 150 organizations under its umbrella and the latter holds sway over 65 groups.

Park Won-Soon, director-general of the PSPD, will become chairman of the council`s standing operation committee, and Lee Seog-Yeon, director-general of the Citizens` Coalition for Economic Justice, and two others will serve as joint operations chairmen.

Suh Young-A sya@donga.com