By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Major newspapers and broadcasters around the world headlined South Korean lawmakers' scuffle last Thursday over a free trade agreement with the United States.
Under the headline of ``South Korean Lawmakers Clash Over Fate of Trade Deal With U.S.,'' the New York Times (NYT) said, ``Violent clashes in the National Assembly are not unheard of, reflecting the nation's feisty brand of democracy. The trade agreement with the United States has been a particularly thorny issue, after huge demonstration in Seoul, the capital, this year against the import of American beef.'' It reported the scuffle with two photos of the violence.
The Los Angeles Times also posted 10 photos of the physical struggle in its online photo gallery, under the title of ``Politics, South Korea-Style Hammer.''
The photos snapped showed lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and their secretaries using a sledgehammer to break into the room where members of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) were locked in while deputies from both the DP and GNP were entangled with white powder from fire extinguishers covered.
The BBC and Associated Press showed the ugly clash via video footage.
The United Arab Emirates-based Gulf News and the Xinhua News Agency in China also reported the parliamentary struggle.
The Assembly secretariat said Sunday the four-hour brawl damaged doors, tables and carpets in the chamber, estimating 19.8 million won ($15,350) in damages.
It also left one Assembly guard with an injury that would take three weeks to heal and officials of political parties sustained minor injuries, the secretariat added.
As the NYT pointed, the fight is not the first of its kind.
According to the secretariat, GNP members attacked a meeting room of the Assembly on Dec. 31, 1998, claiming the place was a secret branch office of the national intelligence office.
Last December, DP and GNP members brawled over the decision to launch a fraud investigation into then-presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak.
According to political analysts, it is hard to imagine this kind of chaos taking place in the Assembly.
In Britain, a red ``sword line'' divides ruling and opposition legislators and prevents them from crossing the border for a physical struggle.
As for the U.S. Congress, minor parties can filibuster the passage of some bills but only long speeches are considered weapons.
In Japan, a mere verbal battle is considered a clash among politicians.