Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
NPAD faces decision on street protests
Yoo Kyung-keun, a spokesman for the families of the victims of the Sewol ferry, speaks at a news conference in Seoul Metropolitan Dongbu Hospital, Thursday. He announced that Kim Young-oh, the father of a 16-year-old daughter who died during the tragedy, ended a hunger strike. / Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
Father of Sewol victim ends hunger strike
By Kang Seung-woo
The opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) is facing increasing pressure to end its street protests, as the bereaved families of the students who died in the Sewol ferry disaster urged the party Thursday to return to the National Assembly.
The families’ message echoed the voices of some elements within the party, who want to end the rallies.
The NPAD began its sit-in outside the Assembly on Tuesday to protest the ruling Saenuri Party’s opposition to its proposed deal, which would break the deadlock stalling passage of the “Sewol bill.“
The rival parties have been wrangling for months
over details of the special bill
, the purpose of which is to uncover the cause of the maritime accident that left more than 300 people dead or missing.
“We ask lawmakers from the opposition party to end their hunger strike and return to the National Assembly and perform their roles there to establish a safe Korea,“ said Yoo Kyung-geun, the spokesman for the families of the Sewol ferry disaster victims.
He made the request during a press conference to announce the end of Kim Young-oh’s
. Kim lost his teenage daughter in the accident.
Kim began fasting July 14 to press the political parties to pass a bill to form a special committee with extrajudicial authority to carry out a thorough investigation of the disaster and indict the people it deems responsible.
On Aug. 19, Rep. Moon Jae-in of the NPAD joined Kim in a sympathy hunger strike to support the push for the legislation. In response to the request from the victims’ families, however, the lawmaker ended his hunger strike Thursday.
Veteran lawmaker Park Jie-won, who served as chief of staff to former President Kim Dae-jung, said the party should stop the protests.
“The best fighting place is the National Assembly and it will be more effective,“ Park told reporters at the Assembly.
In addition, 15 NPAD lawmakers who favor compromise held a morning meeting and agreed that the party needed to change its approach.
“Continual rallies outside the Assembly cannot create favorable public opinion for the party,“ Rep. Hwang Ju-hong said.
“We plan to meet floor leader Park Young-sun and clarify our stance.“
According to public polls, the results of which were reported Thursday in the Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo newspapers, more than 60 percent of respondents opposed the NPAD’s street protests.
The ruling party did not squander the chance to attack the opposition’s actions.
“Citizens oppose the NPAD’s rallies outside the parliament and the opposition lawmakers should pay attention to the survey,“ Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung said during a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly.
“I want the stalemate to be broken before the Chuseok holiday.“ The holiday, sometimes called the Korean Thanksgiving, falls Sept. 7.
Yet despite escalating calls for the opposition party to return to parliament, the NPAD floor leader said the party would not immediately stop the outdoor protests.
“Passage of the Sewol bill is the biggest pending issue in the National Assembly, so we need to flex our muscles on the issue,“ she said.
But she suggested an end to the protests was in sight, saying, “The party plans to continue the sit-in until Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Kim Young-oh said that breaking his hunger strike did not mean the end of his fight for an independent probe into one of the nation’s worst maritime accidents.
“A special bill has yet to be passed and negotiations for the bill are not going smoothly, so I will return to Gwanghwamun to push for the ruling party to accept our demands down to the wire,“ he told reporters at the hospital.