Parties to pass retooling bill

Endorsement scheduled for Wednesday

By Chung Min-uck

The ruling and opposition parties reached a long overdue agreement Sunday to pass a government restructuring bill that reflected much of President Park Geun-hye’s wishes.

“I’m thankful for the National Assembly’s agreement,” President Park was quoted as saying by her spokeswoman Kim Haing. “I hope both ruling and opposition parties will cooperate to initiate the Ministry of Future Planning and Science for the revival of our economy and the creation of jobs.”

A plenary session is scheduled for Wednesday to endorse the bill for promulgation the next day.

The breakthrough came 21 days after Park took office on Feb. 25, and 47 days after the bill was submitted to the Assembly for approval on Jan. 30.

The reorganization proposal has been stuck in parliament due mainly to a duel between Park and the opposition, which feared it would lead to a strengthening of government control over the media.

As requested by Park, they agreed to move the current jurisdiction over broadcasting policies from the independent Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to the Ministry of Future Planning and Science (MoFPS).

The President’s plan to transfer the KCC oversight function of system operators (SOs) had been the principal bone of contention between the two sides. SOs refer to broadcasting operators managing regional cable channels, Internet TV and other broadcasting outlets.

The opposition claims handing over jurisdiction to the new ministry will allow the government to intervene in broadcasting, for example, by assigning “good” numbers to broadcasters it favors.

The agreement was made between floor leaders and deputy floor leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP).

“Let’s sign an agreement today so the new government will do its work properly,” said Rep. Lee Han-koo, the floor leader of the Saenuri Party, before kicking off the bipartisan meeting at the Assembly, Sunday.

“The DUP has been yielding to many proposals presented by the new government,” said Rep, Park Ki-choon, the DUP’s floor leader. “Let’s end the stalemate by removing the guidelines delivered to the ruling party lawmakers by Cheong Wa Dae.”

President Park has repeatedly stressed the need for the swift passage of the bill, while maintaining her stance not to amend her original plan as demanded by the DUP.

If the bill is passed Wednesday, President Park will be able to complete her Cabinet. Appointees of newly created or revived ministries _ the future planning and science, and maritime affairs ministries _ will undergo confirmation hearings quickly before being appointed by the President.

Park has repeatedly stressed that the convergence of broadcasting and communications technology is a future growth engine for the country, and that the envisioned transfer would help the government handle IT and broadcasting issues more efficiently.

Meanwhile, the two parties agreed that they will launch a parliamentary probe into suspicions that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) attempted to influence the Dec. 19 presidential election through having one of its employees post politically sensitive posts online.

Police have been questioning a 29-year-old female NIS employee on suspicions that she wrote more than 120 online posts about politically sensitive issues under multiple IDs.

They also agreed to launch an investigation into the four major rivers refurbishment project by the former Lee Myung-bak administration.