[Analysis] What is the goal of Grand National Party’s sudden move to pass controversial bills?

Posted on : 2009-02-27 13:43 KST Modified on : 2009-02-27 13:43 KST
Party seems confident it can get bills related to the economy and media passed before session ends next week

The ruling Grand National Party took the first step toward passage of a series of controversial bills on the media and the economy when it made the sudden decision to have party members skip procedure and put the bills before their respective parliamentary committees.

In a meeting with journalists on Thursday, Yim Tae-hee, the GNP’s chief policymaker, said, “There is no change in our stance that the bills related to the media should be passed in this extraordinary session,” which ends in early March.

However just the day before, Ko Heung-kil, the chairman of the Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, had said in a statement made after he had submitted the bills to the committee, “The committee will review the bills without a time limit.”

GNP members carried out similar activities in other parliamentary committees. At a meeting of senior lawmakers the same day, GNP floor leader Hong Joon-pyo said, “We will introduce the bill to ratify the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which was endorsed by the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee yesterday,” on the main floor of the Assembly.

The GNP’s main goal is to have bills related to the economy and media passed before the current extraordinary session ends next week, and its recent flurry of activity seems to indicate it is confident that it can get the job done. These include: a bill that would eliminate the investment ceiling for conglomerates that want to invest in their affiliates, a bill that would make it easier for conglomerates to own banks, a bill to privatize the state-run Korea Development Bank and bills to change the Newspaper Act and the Broadcasting Act.

The GNP has a 172-seat majority in South Korea’s 299-seat National Assembly.

The GNP still lacks consensus on the media bills, and some within the party say that it will need to wait until April before the bills gain approval in the Assembly. There fore just putting the bills before the committee was its big achievement.

The best scenario for the GNP would be to get the media-related bills approved before the end of the current extraordinary session. But it will not be easy. National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-o is unlikely to use his authority as speaker to introduce the bills directly to the Assembly for approval due to public concern about such a move. However, Kim could still exercise his authority to introduce bills related to the economy.

In a statement made that afternoon, Kim called on both the ruling and opposition parties to “make a sincere effort to pass the bills in the extraordinary session, which are regarded as essential for the welfare of the public and the economy.”

An aide to Kim said, “It is not likely that Kim will use his authority to directly introduce the bills related to the media, but he is considering using it for the bills related to the economy because all of the necessary procedures for those bills, such as public hearings and parliamentary debates, have been completed.”

However, it will be difficult to thaw the veritable freeze among the parties even if Kim declines to use his authority to introduce only some of the bills. If the media and civic organizations were to step up their resistance against the GNP, the opposition parties could gain an advantage, thus prolonging the struggle.

It is not clear what Kim will choose, though the GNP is surely expecting him to use his authority to introduce the bills. There still appears to be some difference between Kim and the GNP about what are the bills related to public welfare. In the end, Kim will be left to make a lonely choice.

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