Nat'l Assembly begins regular session

The newly elected National Assembly convened its first regular session Monday as the ruling and opposition parties geared up to settle outstanding budgetary and legislative issues ahead of December's presidential election.

The 100-day session is expected to be cut short this year to make way for the Dec. 19 presidential vote, with the ruling Saenuri Party vowing to push for new legislation and the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) determined to highlight the failures of the current administration.

Topping the agenda for Monday's first plenary session are settling this year's government accounts, an arrest motion for former Saenuri lawmaker Rep. Hyun Young-hee and a motion to conduct a special probe into alleged irregularities in a now-scrapped project to build a retirement home for President Lee Myung-bak.

A bill endorsing the investigation passed the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the last minute, allowing it to be sent to the plenary session for approval.

No party currently holds an absolute majority in the 19th National Assembly that came to being through April's parliamentary elections.

Saenuri has 149 lawmakers in the 300-seat legislature, followed by 128 of the DUP, 13 of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, four of the minor conservative Advancement and Unification Party and six independents.

Addressing the National Assembly, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and other senior government officials, Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee urged all lawmakers to make the improvement of peoples' livelihoods their top priority.

"Above all, me must take care of the livelihoods of the people. That is the number one duty of the National Assembly," Kang said in his speech at the session's opening ceremony. "Of those issues, we must handle those related to job creation first. We must also unite without delay on issues that are of help for price stabilization."

Starting Tuesday, the floor leaders of each party are scheduled to give speeches, which will be followed by four days of interpellation sessions with chiefs of government ministries and offices.

In October, the parliament will carry out audits of government offices, while next year's budget is scheduled to be negotiated throughout the session.

The arrest motion for Hyun comes at the request of the Justice Ministry, as prosecutors are required by law to seek the Assembly's approval in order to arrest a lawmaker while the parliament is in session. The lawmaker, now an independent after being expelled from Saenuri, is suspected of having bribed her way into the parliament.

The motion is expected to be put to a vote within 72 hours according to relevant laws.

Reflecting public concerns about a recent series of rapes against women and children, a group of Saenuri and DUP lawmakers told a news conference they will launch a special parliamentary committee in an effort to root out the crime.

Despite the pending issues, however, both the Saenuri and DUP are expected to focus much of their energy on supporting the presidential bids of their respective candidates and challenging those of their rivals.

Saenuri has already nominated Rep. Park Geun-hye, a five-term lawmaker and eldest daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, to be its standard-bearer, while the DUP is set to pick its nominee on Sept. 16 through a four-way primary race that has so far been dominated by Rep. Moon Jae-in, former chief of staff to the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun.

In an earlier interview with Yonhap News Agency, the Saenuri Party's floor leader, Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, said his party will focus on fulfilling the pledges it made ahead of April's elections, including those on the economy and welfare, and push for political reform.

The DUP's floor leader, Rep. Park Jie-won, told Yonhap in a separate interview that his party will get to the bottom of several scandals surrounding the Lee Myung-bak administration, including its alleged illegal surveillance of civilians in the past, and try to usher in a new government.

President Lee Myung-bak's five-year term is set to end in February, and he is barred by law from seeking re-election. (Yonhap)