By Tong Kim
During my recent visit to Seoul, I confirmed the reemergence of a widening division between conservatives and progressives in Korea on major national issues.
(I use ``progressive" instead of ``liberal," as ``liberal" has come to entertain a negative connotation beyond dictionary definition in the United States as a result of Republican attacks against Democrats.)
Conservatives in the right wing describe the 10 years of progressive government by Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun as a ``lost decade." They support the efforts of the Lee Myung-bak government to undo what its two predecessors did.
They favor the rewriting of text books for public education, taking a tough stance on North Korea, and they support government control over the press and restrictions on demonstrations. They want President Lee to take strong and decisive action in carrying out his policies in order to prevent the return of a ``leftist" government in the future.
On the other hand, progressives ― many of whom fought for democratization in Korea ― accuse President Lee of turning back the clock to the authoritarian rule of the past. They warn against the coming of a ``civilian dictatorship."
They accuse the government of favoring business conglomerates to small businesses, management to labor, and the rich to the poor. They oppose government attempts to curb civil liberties. They attack the government's hard-line policy of confrontation with North Korea.
In my estimate based on recent surveys, conservatives constitute roughly 30 to 35 percent of the population, while the progressives make up 20 to 25 percent. About 40 to 50 percent of people are politically neutral to independent: these independents side with either ideological wing depending on the issue.
On the inter-Korean issue, most independents share the progressives' critical view of the Lee government. The government is defensive on the North Korean issue, but it still sticks to its entrenched position of waiting ― waiting for change in the North.
As the number of business failures increases and more people are put out of jobs, the independents are more concerned about the gloomy prospect of economic recovery than the ideological divide between conservatives and progressives.
The Lee government has yet to demonstrate some positive governance to enlist the people's support and confidence in its conservative policy line.
After almost a year of trial and error and particularly after surviving a costly political crisis from beef imports ― which would have been avoided if President Lee had been prudent ― Lee Myung-bak, who was elected to revive the economy, is hit hard by the world wide recession.
Only a year ago he ambitiously talked about 7 percent growth; now he says his goal for next year is to prevent negative growth. Korea depends heavily on exports for growth and the market decline in Korean exports is not his fault.
It is under these circumstances that opposition Democratic Party (DP) members at the time of this writing are occupying the main floor of the National Assembly to block the passage of over 100 legislative bills which President Lee and his Grand National Party (GNP) claim are essential to stop further economic downturn and secure stronger legal grounds for carrying out government policies.
Most controversial of these pending bills are those which would allow chaebol and big newspapers to own and run television stations, prohibit demonstrators from wearing face masks, authorize the National Intelligence Service to conduct political surveillance, punish defamatory writers on Internet communication and allow eavesdropping of cell phone conversations.
Not too long ago the GNP passed budget bills without the participation of opposition members. It also blocked them from attending a committee meeting that voted in favor of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was signed last June, leading them to cut through the door with a chain saw and smash name plates and chairs in the room after the committee passed the bill.
Physical collision in the National Assembly is not new; in a way it is a legacy of the parliamentary culture that grew out of a long period of struggle against dictatorship in Korea. There are laws and rules governing parliamentary procedures, but they are not always observed.
There is no law to punish lawmakers for failing to comply with these laws. The current 18th-term National Assembly has failed to meet the legal deadlines for forming the legislature at the outset and to pass the budget for the next fiscal year.
In theory, the passage of a bill is determined numerically by vote. The GNP has 172 votes and the DP 83 in the 299-seat legislature. Traditionally, lawmakers vote by party lines in Korea. There is no 60-seat requirement to frustrate filibusters, as is the case in the U.S. Senate.
It would seem easy for the governing GNP to pass all the bills it wishes. But there is an inviolable rule that stipulates the passage of a bill must be announced from the speaker's podium, which is now under seize by the opposition.
Some conservatives argue that the DP members are opposing the bills that the GNP is pushing through because they still refuse to accept the elected government of President Lee.
Declaring ``war on legislation to pass all the bills at once," the GNP floor leader said, the Democratic Party was defeated in both presidential and National Assembly elections, and if they do not agree on the bills, they should wait until the next elections, four years from now.
Encouraged by improved support from progressives and civic organizations for standing up to the conservative government, the Democratic Party leadership seems equally determined to block the passage of the GNP bills, which it calls ``bad laws."
Some members are even calling for voluntary resignations of all opposition members in protest of the GNP's blatant disregard of the opposition party.
My suggestion is that both parties calm down to reason and think seriously of their constitutional duty to serve the people. Although many of the bills are urgent, some are more urgent and less controversial than others.
To enact all 114 legislations at once does not seem to warrant approval. It is also important to observe the parliamentary tradition by which final bills of legislation are put to vote only after consultation, compromise and consent between the governing and opposition parties.
In a parliamentary democracy, minority views are to be respected to the maximum beyond the majority party's political interest.
I would also like to suggest that the Lee government focus more on the economy and less on undoing what its predecessor did. If it goes too far in reversing the course, its successor may reverse it back.
If a progressive government comes in four years from now, there might be a vicious cycle of policy reversals. What's your take?
Tong Kim is a research professor with the Ilmin Institute of International Relations at Korea University and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He can be reached at