FTA passage leaves parliament in paralysis

The passing of the disputed Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement has left the National Assembly in paralysis, with the main opposition Democratic Party boycotting most of the scheduled meetings on Thursday.

Rep. Jeong Gab-yoon, chairman of the parliamentary budget committee, summoned a subcommittee meeting on Thursday morning to revise the government’s budget bill but had to adjourn as none of the DP members showed up.

“The National Assembly should not neglect its duties just because minority opposition parties refuse to participate in the processes,” said Rep. Chang Yoon-seok, the GNP negotiator for the committee in radio interview.

His DP counterpart Rep. Kang Gi-jung, however, said that the GNP should first make an official apology for ignoring opposition voices and driving the FTA bill ahead.

“Our intention is not to boycott the pending parliamentary agenda but to have a cooling-off period after Tuesday’s commotion,” he said.

He nevertheless agreed that the budget bill review should arrive at a bipartisan consensus, though it may be difficult to meet the given deadline, which is next Friday.

Parties also put off the appointment of two Supreme Court justices and a Constitutional Court judge in the aftermath of the ratification.

The two courts have had a shortage of judges for some time and it is yet uncertain when another plenary session will be held to hold the hearings.

While the budget committee is stalled, GNP chairman Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, who steered the snap vote, spoke little on the issue.

“I hope that the people will generously understand the urgency of the situation in which we could not help but pushing on with the vote according to the National Assembly law,” Hong said Thursday.

He also urged the party’s policy committee to formulate a comprehensive welfare budget.

“Rep. Hong made a choice to avoid physical clashes in passing the bill, but considering the negative responses and concerns, will remain low-key for a while,” said his aide.

The DP leader Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, on the other hand, was trying to unify the opposition.

In the party’s meeting on Wednesday, former floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won once again tackled Sohn’s plan to consolidate left-wing parties first and then select a unified leader.

The DP chairman also communicated individually with minority parties and civic groups to add momentum in forming a unified party before next year’s general election.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)