Redraw electoral constituencies first before handling other bills

Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-kee, Senior Secretary for Policy Coordination Hyun Jung-taik and Senior Political Secretary Hyun Ki-hwan visited the National Assembly on Friday without prior notice. They meet with National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa and Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung to call for the passage of controversial bills including anti-terrorism and labor reform bills. Regarding the Saenuri Party's plan to link the bills to another bill on redrawing the electoral constituencies, Lee denied the presidential office's involvement. However, there is no one to believe the remark.

Although the government has to start making a list for overseas voters from February 24, rival parties failed yet again to reach an agreement Friday on a redistricting bill. The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea called for first handling a redistricting proposal and a North Korea human rights bill. However, the negotiations collapsed as the ruling party insisted on passing those bills together with other controversial proposals. In December 2015, Hyun met the National Assembly speaker to blatantly demand that the parliament pass the controversial bills first before handling the redistricting bill. Who would believe the presidential office's denial?

Some call ruling party chief Kim Moo-sung's dragging his feet on the redistricting issue an "hostile symbiosis" with the president's office because delays in the redistricting would work in favor of incumbent lawmakers seeking re-election. They claim that Kim, who aims to rally his lawmaker supporters after the April parliamentary elections to gain control over the party with an eye to his presidential bid, is keeping his hands off the redistricting issue under the excuse of the presidential office's demand.

The Saenuri Party handed out a list of its members without separating those with voting rights and those without them. Critics say that the party's planned bottom-up candidate nomination system is actually for nominating incumbent lawmakers. With just around 50 days before the parliamentary elections, the presidential office should stop its call for linking bills, while the ruling party chief should make all-out efforts to redraw constituencies. Prepare for the upcoming elections first, before handling economic revival bills.

박제균논설위원 phark@donga.com