Parties continue political strife despite coronavirus fear
Deputy floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party shake hands at the National Assembly, Monday, to discuss political issues and measures to fight the new coronavirus. From left are Rep. Lee Dong-sup of the Bareunmirae Party, Rep. Yoon Hu-duk of the DPK and Rep. Kim Han-pyo of the LKP. Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
Rival parties have come under criticism for failing to cooperate and make joint efforts to fight spread of the new coronavirus although the epidemic is getting serious here amid the growing number of confirmed cases.
The parties continue to cast blame on each other for failure to agree on joint actions, paying more attention to how the outbreak will affect their campaigns for the April 15 general election.
On Monday, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) floor leader Lee In-young called for the need to establish a special committee at the National Assembly for legislative support in fighting the epidemic.
He said a committee had been set up at the time of 2015 outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
“I urge non-partisan efforts (to fight the epidemic), as it is the most important task for the political circle to relieve public concerns over coronavirus,” Lee said in a party meeting at the Assembly.
He urged parties to give priority to the outbreak over the election. “We have to bear in mind that the first priority is quarantine, the second is economy and the third is the election,” Lee said.
The opposition parties, however, are using the situation as a chance to highlight the government's incompetence and poor response to the epidemic.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said the government's decision to bar foreigners who have been in China's Hubei Province in the past two weeks from entering the country starting Tuesday not only came late but also needs to be expanded to ban those who have been to any other regions of China.
The main opposition party has been calling for banning all Chinese nationals from entering Korea and deporting those who are already here, as stronger “preventive measures.”
“The government's belated responses are lax and poor, and they naturally cause public concerns and fear,” LKP floor leader Rep. Shim Jae-cheol said in a party meeting. “Some 40 percent of infections in China took place outside of Hubei Province. Banning only people from Hubei is not enough.”
LKP Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn also denounced the government decision to provide masks to China. “Korean people are angry at Chinese people in Korea buying all masks here and taking them overseas,” he said. “We (Koreans) have to have a full supply of masks first. The government should limit the number of masks foreigners can buy and ban them from taking masks to their countries.”
Other parties including the minor opposition Justice Party have criticized the LKP for trying to stir up racial hatred. The Justice Party, however, said the scope of the prohibition of entry to Korea should be expanded to cover other Chinese regions where the numbers of infected people are increasing, such as Guangzhou.
Deputy floor leaders of the DPK, LKP and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party had a meeting at the Assembly, Monday, to discuss measures to battle the new coronavirus and other political issues. They agreed to hold a provisional session of the Assembly for 30 days within this month to pass key bills including revision bills to the Quarantine Act, which are related to fighting infectious diseases.