Parties Differ Over Fate of Unification Panel
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
The governing and opposition parties are pushing two contrasting bills on the fate of the National Unification Advisory Council.
A National Assembly legislative review subcommittee will review the two revision plans Tuesday that would either strengthen or weaken the role of the presidential advisory body.
A revision bill submitted by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the governing Grand National Party calls for increasing the number of the council's advisory board members to 20,000 or more.
Under the current law, the council, which now has 17,000 advisers, is required to maintain a minimum of 7,000 members.
If Yoon's revision bill passes the National Assembly, top officials of the council will be promoted as ministerial and vice-ministerial level civil servants and advisory panel members will receive activity fees.
In contrast, Rep. Song Min-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) submitted to the legislature a bill that would dramatically downsize the council.
Song's bill would eliminate most of the council's existing functions, including public opinion gathering, provision of policy advice and facilitating the national consensus on unification.
Moreover, the bill would slash the number of the advisory board members to less than 50.
DP lawmakers called for the weakening of the council's role as the 29-year-old body has become a ``political puppet'' of the government.
They say that the council's 35 advisory panels operating outside Korea will greatly influence the outcome of National Assembly elections and the presidential poll in 2012, where overseas Koreans will be allowed to cast a ballot for the first time.
Recently, the DP criticized the council's Unification Rainbow Campaign, which urges an advisory member to encourage six people to participate in the unification movement.
However, GNP lawmakers say the role of the council should be further strengthened so that it can play a leading role in creating a public consensus on inter-Korean policies among Korean nationals at home and abroad.