S. Korean presidential office in all-out efforts to get anti-terrorism bill passed by parliament

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is putting all in on getting an anti-terrorism bill approved by the National Assembly out of concern that if the bill fails to be concluded at a time of heightened concerns over North Korea's provocations and terrorism, there could be no future for the bill.

President Park Geun-hye and Cheong Wa Dae officials have stepped up their remarks on the anti-terrorism bill since the North's nuclear test on January 6. In a public statement on February 13, the president said it was "necessary" to legislate the anti-terrorism bill to prepare for possible terrorist attacks by North Korea or international terror groups, adding that that failure to pass the bill would be equivalent to leaving the public security in jeopardy. She reiterated the call at her February 16 speech to the National Assembly, saying the people's security is vulnerable to various types of risks including terrorism.

Kim Sung-woo, a senior presidential public affairs secretary, also publicly expressed concerns over North Korea's terror threats, while Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-kee visited the National Assembly on Friday to call for the bill's passage. Lee, who is personally close to the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea's chief Kim Jong-in, seems to have intended to ease the party's opposition by delivering the president's intention in a more polite and accurate manner. Both Lee and Kim served as aides to former President Roh Tae-woo.

At a meeting with Kim, Lee, a former head of the National Intelligence Service, promised to prevent the spy agency from using the anti-terrorism bill for political purposes, according to the Minjoo Party's spokesperson Kim Sung-soo.

However, Kim said that the major stumbling block is the public's "fundamental distrust" in the intelligence agency, adding that his party finds it difficult to deliberate on the bill any time soon, opposing linking the anti-terrorism bill to the handling of a revision bill for the election law. Lee claimed the presidential office had never linked the anti-terrorism bill with the election law.

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