Floor Leaders Under Fire From Own Parties
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The floor leaders of the country's two major parties are being blamed for the prolonged standoff in the National Assembly, which has lost more than two months of working days.
Colleagues of Hong Joon-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party, also call him a maverick who needs to act more like a smooth operator.
His counterpart Won Hye-young of the main opposition Democratic Party is blamed as indecisive. Opponents inside the party have asked Won to act tougher in the negotiations.
Hard-liners in both parties also complain that their floor leaders gave too many concessions in the negotiations on forming the 18 parliamentary standing committees.
Hong and Won agreed to complete the committees by Tuesday next week, but some doubt this.
Weeks ago, Hong agreed not to call as witnesses staff from the TV investigative magazine ''PD Notebook'' to a parliamentary hearing on the resumption of American beef imports, apparently to reach an agreement with the rival party.
His decision drew criticism from members in his party, who had demanded that the staff testify.
He also irritated the presidential office after agreeing to hold an ad hoc committee meeting to conduct confirmation hearings for Cabinet nominees.
At the last minute, the presidential office nixed the agreement, saying confirmation hearings held by an ad hoc committee are illegal.
Hong's selected candidates for committee chairmen also angered a group of lawmakers who had sought the positions but whose names were not on the list.
They questioned the selection process, saying it was not merit-based and oriented toward political considerations.
These incidents have led ruling party lawmakers to question Hong's ability as chief negotiator.
Won of the DP is also under criticism from his fellow lawmakers, who say he is not tough enough.
Won agreed to form the standing committees but failed to include two core agenda items ― a bill to monitor infectious cattle diseases and a parliamentary probe into President Lee Myung-bak's alleged plan to control broadcast networks ― into the negotiation agreement.
He later apologized to his colleagues for removing the two agenda items.