[News Briefing] Lawmakers clash over 2011 budget

Posted on : 2010-12-08 14:55 KST Modified on : 2010-12-08 14:55 KST
Democratic Party staffs take out furniture erected by the ruling Grand National Party as a barricade at the National Assembly
Democratic Party staffs take out furniture erected by the ruling Grand National Party as a barricade at the National Assembly

 Dec. 7. (Photo by Tak Ki-hyoung)  
Dec. 7. (Photo by Tak Ki-hyoung)  

Lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday clashed physically over next year’s national budget plan and related bills as the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) attempted to railroad them on the night.

Some 40 lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) occupied the chairman’s seat and podium at the main National Assembly hall late at night to block the GNP lawmakers from entering parliamentary meetings. Lawmakers from opposition parties also waged a sit-in at the main lobby of the National Assembly.

Prior to this, GNP lawmakers unilaterally opened the Land and Maritime Affairs Committee meeting and submitted 92 bills, including ones aimed to speed up the Lee Myung-bak administration’s controversial Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, inside a closed-door conference room.

The GNP will put the budget bill to voting in the plenary session till Thusday when the current session ends. But the DP has threatened to employ physical means to block its passage, demanding an extraordinary parliamentary session be held.

 

U.S. to push for expanded beef exports

The chief U.S. trade negotiator Tuesday said he will continue to push for wider access to the South Korean beef market, although he defended the revised free-trade deal with South Korea as a “balanced agreement.”

Appearing on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said he expects to see beef exports grow as “tariffs on beef are going to come down about a half” under the ROKUS FTA, but added, “We do have more work to do on getting full implementation of a beef protocol that’s been a separate part of the free-trade agreement.”

Beef is not an issue covered by the ROKUS FTA, but Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has threatened not to move the FTA unless Seoul allows shipments of beef from cattle of all ages.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s top trade official on Tuesday hinted at easing its emission and environmental requirements for EU-made automotives after giving U.S. automakers flexibility meeting the regulations.

(Yonhap News Agency)

Ministry sets 75 percent license rate for bar exam

The Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday that it will lower the pass rate a little to 75 percent from 80 percent for the law school students since 2012.

The compromise plan by the governement has brought criticism from both law school students around the country and current lawyers associations.

 

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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