Parties agree on parliamentary bill

Rival parties agreed Monday on a controversial bill that enables lawmakers to demand changes to government ordinances, accepting the compromise suggested by the National Assembly speaker and passing it to the government that adamantly opposed the original version.

President Park Geun-hye hinted at possibly vetoing the bill, saying that it could encroach upon the executive branch’s authority and violate the constitutional rule of separation of powers.

The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy accepted National Assembly Speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa’s mediation over the bill. Chung had proposed to amend contentious words to bridge the partisan gap and prevent potential clashes with the Constitution.

“(My proposal’s) whole purpose is to eliminate the bill’s unconstitutionality,” said Chung. “Therefore, I believe there will be no unnecessary clashes between the legislature and the executive branch. I sincerely appreciate both parties’ cooperation,” Chung said.

The bill initially stated that the assembly can “demand” the government change an enforcement decree, but Chung had asked the lawmakers to replace the word “demand” with “request” to prevent constitutional violations.

The NPAD agreed Monday to accept the speaker’s proposal at a meeting where key NPAD lawmakers attended. The party pointed out that the speaker’s version is “virtually” the same as the original one, arguing it is “merely” the change of a phrase.

“We have agreed to accept the speaker’s proposal,” said NPAD floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul. “The change is only limited to the word choice, basically replacing the word ‘demand’ with ‘request.’ We have decided to stop political bickering (over the issue),” said Lee.

Lee urged the speaker to ask the president to stop threatening to veto the bill, demanding the speaker’s commitment to bringing the bill to the floor once again for a vote even if the president vetoed the bill. The speaker said it is “unlikely” that the president would veto the bill.

The ruling Saenuri Party, however, refused to give the NPAD assurance to bring the bill to the floor in the event of the president’s veto. “I can’t not give my word to the NPAD (on the vote),” Saenuri Party floor leader Yoo Seung-min said Monday.

Meanwhile, Cheong Wa Dae has yet to rule out the possibility of vetoing the bill. “(The speaker’s proposal) could still violate the Constitution. The government could veto the bill if it perceives that (the bill) could encroach upon its executive right,” said Rep. Kim Jae-won of Saenuri Party, a senior aide to the president.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)