Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) walk out of the main hall of the National Assembly after ending their occupation of the Assembly Tuesday. / Yonhap |
South Korea's main opposition party Tuesday ended its sit-in of the National Assembly amid imminent talks to resolve a standoff over hotly contested bills, including a free trade deal with the U.S. and deregulation of the media industry, Yonhap News reported Tuesday.
"We will normalize the National Assembly to swiftly process bills aimed at public welfare," Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun said while party lawmakers and staffers filed out of the assembly's plenary session hall.
The decision to free the hall was made at a meeting of the party's supreme council earlier in the day, according to Chung.
In a blitzkrieg-like move, DP legislators occupied the assembly's main hall in late December to block the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) from unilaterally passing all the contested bills, including ratification of a free trade agreement (FTA), before the end of the extraordinary session Thursday.
Besides the FTA, the rival parties are deadlocked over a long list of reform proposals, including bills allowing conglomerates and newspapers to acquire a controlling stake in local television broadcasters, toughening punishment for cyberspace libel, banning demonstrators from wearing masks in street rallies and expanding legitimate wiretapping by law-enforcement authorities.
Following failed talks Monday, a partisan negotiation group plans to convene later in the day to negotiate when and how to handle the bills. The DP has reportedly taken a flexible stance concerning voting on the FTA, but remains adamant in blocking the media deregulation bill.
Observers say the decision to end the protest was apparently made to gain leverage in the talks later in the day.
South Korea and the U.S. signed the FTA in 2007, with studies suggesting the agreement would increase their two-way trade of $78 billion by 20 billion in the coming years. The U.S. Congress has yet to ratify the pact.
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