ED Dereliction of duty

Lawmakers should put people's livelihoods before partisanship

The door of the National Assembly, dubbed the hall of representative democracy, is ostensibly open. However, the door is actually closed because partisan struggles have crippled the operation of the Assembly.

This year's first extraordinary Assembly session ended without producing any results last month. Worse, there is little chance of the chamber's normalization this month due to the “all or nothing” confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over various political issues.

The standoff has deepened following ludicrous remarks by three lawmakers of the main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), denigrating the May 1980 pro-democracy movement in the southwestern city of Gwangju. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) had already been at loggerheads with the LKP and other minor parties due to property speculation allegations surrounding its lawmaker, Sohn Hye-won.

The rival parties have locked horns over a former presidential inspector's revelation about surveillance of civilians. And they have also been in dispute over an online opinion rigging case involving South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo, a confidant of President Moon Jae-in and a DPK member. Kim was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in manipulating comments on news articles in the run-up to the May 2017 presidential election.

Against this backdrop, the majority of people have been fed up with the members of the Assembly who are obsessed only with their own personal interests and partisanship, even if their duty and responsibilities are to work hard to represent the people.

There are a pile of pending bills directly related to the people's livelihoods such as those about deregulatory measures in the services industry, the introduction of a ride-sharing service, the expansion of flexible working hours and the increase of farmers' income, to name a few.

Needless to say, the people's primary concern is the economy. Nothing is more urgent than their livelihoods. Public consensus is that the current economy is getting worse. The sluggish job creation issue shows no sign of improving and this is compounded by continued stagnation in domestic demand, driving many self-employed people out of business.

The government has to overhaul its ill-conceived economic policies, and if necessary, change course to help invigorate the sagging economy. The Assembly is no exception. It should listen to the people's voices to work out countermeasures to speed up economic recovery. But what its members are doing now indicates that they are not interested in such urgent matters.

Legislators should not turn a deaf ear to the economic difficulties the people are going through. They should know better than to put their own personal or partisan interests before those of the people and the nation. Otherwise, they will eventually have to face the people's stern judgment. They must convene a special session immediately to deliberate pending bills designed to improve the quality of life.