2 Lawmakers Find for Vandalism at Assembly
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A district court in Seoul has fined two lawmakers for destroying property during bipartisan scuffles at the National Assembly over a motion to ratify the free trade agreement with the United States last December.
In a ruling Monday, Rep. Moon Hak-jin of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) was fined 2 million won ($1,730) and Rep. Lee Jung-hee of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party was fined 500,000 won.
Seven aides to legislators of the two parties were also fined 4 to 5 million won for their role in the violence, one of the ugliest chapters in Korean politics.
The two lawmakers were indicted last June on charges of violence _ using hammers and other tools to try and break into an Assembly conference room which had been occupied and barricaded by lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party.
The violence occurred on Dec. 18 after Chairman Park Jin of the Assembly Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification exercised his right to mobilize forces to ensure security to ratify the motion.
The chairman, who belongs to the ruling party, further invoked his power to table the motion at a session where only ruling party lawmakers attended, despite resistance from opposition parties.
Several opposition lawmakers and their aides broke the door of the conference room using a sledge hammer and a saw in an effort to deter the move, leading to violence and chaos.
The court stated that people having caused violence in the parliament building should have been given a harsher punishment than fines.
But it added that Park exercising his right to call in security couldn’t be justified, and therefore ordered a lighter punishment.
The court clarified that an Assembly committee chairman is allowed to exercise this right only when violence actually occurs, and that he or she is not allowed to use it as a preemptive measure.
Political analysts say the ruling will have an effect on the fate of a pending proposal aimed to punish lawmakers or others using violence submitted by the GNP last September.
Under the proposal, those who use violence in the parliament will get a jail term of up to five years or fined up to 10 million won.
The ruling party came up with the bill to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents at the Assembly. The main opposition DP opposed the proposal, arguing it will limit the opposition lawmakers’ activities.