Ruling-Opposition Parties Battle Over National Assembly Law

Despite three time negotiations between the Ruling-opposition parties over the issue of laying the National Assembly’s reform bills, no conclusion was made in a session of the National Assembly’s steering committee as the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP)-United Liberal Democrats (ULD) and the Grand National Party (GNP) opposed against each other. The ULD floor leader Lee Wan-Gu said in a session of the National Assembly’s steering committee that ``if the ruling-opposition cannot reach an agreement, the chairperson of the committee will have to introduce the reform bill by his authority.`` However, the GNP floor leader Lee Jae-Oh strongly opposed to the suggestion saying that ``it is possible to rush the bills through the Assembly by surprise because there are more committee members of the ruling party than the opposition party.`` During the session, 20 members of the GNP closed the door of the meeting room blocking up the doorway of the committee members.

Kim Yong-Gap (GNP) in a session of the National Assembly’s Unification-Foreign Affairs-Trade Committee urged for the resignation of Minister of Unification Yim Dong-Won saying that ``the Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO)’s participation in the Mt. Kumgang tour program is a part of the low profile measures to accomplish the return visit by Kim Jong-Il North Korea’s National Defense Commission Chairman. It is an expedient means to beg for his return visit.``

Kim Bang-Lim (MDP) and other Assemblypeople of the ruling-opposition parties in a session of the Assembly’s Industry-Resources Committee asked whether the privatization of the developing companies, through the Korea Development Bank (KDB)’s certification of payment and the Korea Electric Power Corporation’s payment in kind to the KDB, was the best solution. They also urged the delay of the privatization saying that ``if the government proceeds with the privatization after 2004, it does not have to guarantee the payment or exhaust the national property.``

Kim Bu-Gyum (GNP) in a session of the Assembly’s Government Affairs Committee concerning the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that ``the amount of bad debts of the Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea was 10.4432 trillion won as of end of March. This is 27 percent of the total bank bad debts (38.1339 trillion won).`` Lee Sung-Hun (GNP) said that ``42.8615 trillion won out of 134.7 trillion won of the invested public funds as of the end of March cannot be collected.``

Yoon Young-Chan yyc11@donga.com