Shame on Lawmakers

Dialog, Compromise Key to Parliamentary Democracy

It is a shame that lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties were again in a violent confrontation at the National Assembly. A parliamentary scuffle took place Thursday when legislators of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) used a sledgehammer, crowbars and chisels to knock down the doors of a blocked room where a committee was discussing a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.

In order to block the DP members, officials of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) spayed fire extinguishers at the intruders. This violent clash lasted about four hours, causing property damage worth 19.87 million won and wounding several people, including an Assembly security guard. The scene was as if a violent demonstration had erupted in a Seoul street. Such violence should not have occurred in the parliamentary building.

Many people could not believe that the lawmakers turned into mobs that not only violated the law but also ignored the basic principles of parliamentary democracy. Such violent clashes at the National Assembly are common in South Korea. But this time, people were all the more indignant with the lawbreaking legislators, who don't know how to hold a dialog and compromise with each other. How can they persuade people to accept their decision-making and legislation process?

At the center of the confrontation is the contentious free trade deal, which was signed by Seoul and Washington in June last year. The GNP wants to railroad the FTA through the Assembly by the end of this year to rule out any possibility of renegotiations and pressure the U.S. Congress to ratify it without further delay. But the DP and other opposition parties are against immediate ratification to take more time and observe the changes in the U.S. Congress, as President-elect and Democrat Barack Obama, who is critical of the FTA, is to take office next month.

It is natural that members of the ruling and opposition parties have different views and policy lines on the FTA and other pending issues. But the differences can never justify violence at the Assembly building. Before putting a motion or a bill to a vote, legislators ought to allow the due process of discussing it and reflecting on different views of opposing parties. It goes without saying that all legislation activities should be based on the democratic process.

The public has harbored deepening political indifference and shown an abhorrence to political hacks, including lawmakers and other elected posts. Corruption-tainted party politics and political skullduggery have led to a loss of public trust and confidence. Repeated violence at the National Assembly and habitual corruption scandals involving lawmakers are the enemies of democracy. South Korea is the world's 13th largest economy, but it is far behind many developing countries in terms of politics and democracy.

Now, it is time for lawmakers and politicians to learn how to hold dialog and compromise to break their bad, ``time-honored'' habit of Assembly violence. The ruling party should not resort to unilateralism with its majority seats. Opposition parties are also required to raise their voices through rational and peaceful means. People don't want to continue to hear that there are only political brawls in the absence of politics in South Korea. How difficult it is to become a mature democracy!