By Jun Ji-hye
Rep. Kim Han-gil, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), is under attack from his own party members for what they say is his failure to push for the appoint of a special prosecutor to investigate the spy agency's election-meddling scandal.
The complaints within the party intensified following the acquittal of former Seoul Police Chief Kim Yong-pan, one of the key figures allegedly implicated in the alleged intervention in the 2012 presidential election campaign by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The opposition believes the Park Geun-hye government, together with the justice ministry, colluded to obstruct the prosecution's investigation.
Senior lawmaker Park Jie-won argued that it seems Chairman Kim did not do his utmost to push for the special probe into the NIS scandal, which resulted in the failure to establish a bipartisan discussion of the scandal.
"By nature, opposition parties are underdogs. They can hardly win over the majority ruling party on their own," Park said Monday when he appeared on a cable news program. "The only way for the opposition to take initiative against the governing party is garnering public support. But the DP failed to focus public attention on the matter."
Rep. Jung Cheong-rae echoed that sentiment, saying, "The current DP is really not like the main opposition party."
He claimed that the chairman did not have a comprehensive strategy to pressurize the ruling Saenuri Party to accept the demand for an independent counsel.
The lawmaker compared Kim to President Park, saying Kim failed to do what Park achieved a decade ago.
"In 2004, President Park, then chairwoman of the Grand National Party (now Saenuri), was opposed to the attempt of then-governing camp Uri Party (now DP) to revise the Private School Act. At the time, Park linked the issue with then President Roh Moo-hyun's budget proposal," he said.
She embarked on rallies to raise public awareness of the issue and refused to attend bipartisan activities at the National Assembly for about 50 days, and eventually crippled the move to amend the law, he said.
The second-term lawmaker criticized Chairman Kim for failing to effectively link the opposition's demand for the special investigator to President Park's budget proposal in December, saying the DP supported the budget proposal without winning other concessions from the ruling party.
"DP members regret that," he said.
Other DP members have also accused Kim of not sufficiently communicating with party members.
Rep. Jung said party leaders including Kim and floor leader Rep. Jun Byung-hun do not consult with their fellow lawmakers before they speak to the media.
Park Jie-won added: "We do not have sufficient time to speak out about our opinions at party meetings."
In the meantime, floor leader Jun suggested that the governing camp agree on holding a four-way meeting between the chairmen and floor leaders to discuss whether or not the parliament should appoint the special prosecutor.
The Saenuri Party snubbed Jun's request, saying the opposition's attitude is violating the principle of the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and the judiciary.
 |
| DP Chairman Kim Han-gil |
The complaints within the party intensified following the acquittal of former Seoul Police Chief Kim Yong-pan, one of the key figures allegedly implicated in the alleged intervention in the 2012 presidential election campaign by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The opposition believes the Park Geun-hye government, together with the justice ministry, colluded to obstruct the prosecution's investigation.
Senior lawmaker Park Jie-won argued that it seems Chairman Kim did not do his utmost to push for the special probe into the NIS scandal, which resulted in the failure to establish a bipartisan discussion of the scandal.
"By nature, opposition parties are underdogs. They can hardly win over the majority ruling party on their own," Park said Monday when he appeared on a cable news program. "The only way for the opposition to take initiative against the governing party is garnering public support. But the DP failed to focus public attention on the matter."
Rep. Jung Cheong-rae echoed that sentiment, saying, "The current DP is really not like the main opposition party."
He claimed that the chairman did not have a comprehensive strategy to pressurize the ruling Saenuri Party to accept the demand for an independent counsel.
The lawmaker compared Kim to President Park, saying Kim failed to do what Park achieved a decade ago.
"In 2004, President Park, then chairwoman of the Grand National Party (now Saenuri), was opposed to the attempt of then-governing camp Uri Party (now DP) to revise the Private School Act. At the time, Park linked the issue with then President Roh Moo-hyun's budget proposal," he said.
She embarked on rallies to raise public awareness of the issue and refused to attend bipartisan activities at the National Assembly for about 50 days, and eventually crippled the move to amend the law, he said.
The second-term lawmaker criticized Chairman Kim for failing to effectively link the opposition's demand for the special investigator to President Park's budget proposal in December, saying the DP supported the budget proposal without winning other concessions from the ruling party.
"DP members regret that," he said.
Other DP members have also accused Kim of not sufficiently communicating with party members.
Rep. Jung said party leaders including Kim and floor leader Rep. Jun Byung-hun do not consult with their fellow lawmakers before they speak to the media.
Park Jie-won added: "We do not have sufficient time to speak out about our opinions at party meetings."
In the meantime, floor leader Jun suggested that the governing camp agree on holding a four-way meeting between the chairmen and floor leaders to discuss whether or not the parliament should appoint the special prosecutor.
The Saenuri Party snubbed Jun's request, saying the opposition's attitude is violating the principle of the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and the judiciary.
![[INTERVIEW] Leandro Erlich's questioning of our perception of reality carries new meaning in pandemic](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/4e0bfee487254348a54493b1502067fa.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Im Si-wan found own narrative for villain role in 'Emergency Declaration'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/3d4e96e353be489fa38b3d3fabc7321a.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
