Opposition party floor leader`s `brinkmanship strategy`

"They believe that once negotiation starts, delaying the process weakens the other party`s position," recalled U.S. Admiral USS Turner Joy who had joined the armistice talks as U.N. senior representative at Kaeseong in North Korea on July 10, 1951. Professor Kim Yong-ho said in his report "Analysis of North Korea`s External Negotiations Tactics" that in early stage of talks, the North attempts to gain initiative by presenting strong demands and intense principles, and in the final stage doesn`t regard agreement documents as final but makes new demands in the course of carrying out things agreed upon.

The leading and main opposition parties passed on Friday morning the revised public officials pension law, during the process of which they quietly inserted the National Assembly Law revision. Floor leader Lee Jong-geol of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy had demanded it saying the public officials pension law can`t be passed if the clause to appoint investigation director 1 as prosecutor`s secretary at the Sewol special law enforcement ordinance is not corrected. Floor leader Yoo Seung-min of the main Saenuri Party who had disapproved saying, "The National Assembly can`t change the enforcement ordinance through legislation," ultimately agreed to first revise the National Assembly Law that can virtually allow the parliament to force the enforcement ordinance on the public administration ministry.

Opposition parties have provoked a quarrel on the government`s various enforcement ordinance, thus paralyzing execution of administration affairs, and has paved a way for the existence of a National Assembly Law that can put the National Assembly in a vegetarian state by linking to the parliament`s law executions. The main and opposition parties had on May 2 agreed on raising the nominal income replacement rate to 50 percent under condition that the public officials pension law is passed, to which President Park Geun-hye had put a brake on. Then, Lee`s terms of agreement added basic pension, corporate take hikes and dismissal of Health and Welfare Minister Moon Hyung-pyo.

Some within the Saenuri Party are criticizing that Yoo, exhausted by Lee`s "lie down on his back" negotiating tactics, gave him 10,000 dollars when he had wanted 1 dollar. President Park declared Sunday she won`t accept the National Assembly Law revision, which will lead to fierce battle between the main and opposition parties. A descendent of independence fighter Lee Hoe-young, Lee is known as a hard liner even within the main opposition party. Yoo will keep feeling anxious and fear what other surprising cards Lee could come up with.

swpark@donga.com