2 Minor Parties Declare Partnership for Subsidy
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The hard-core conservative Liberty Forward Party (LFP) joined hands with a minor liberal Renewal of Korea Party (ROKP) to form a parliamentary negotiation group, which would make them the third largest bloc having 21 lawmakers.
The cohabitation between conservative and liberal parties was made possible as the two sides will be entitled to more subsidies by working as a group at the National Assembly.
Current existing parliamentary negotiation groups are the 153-member governing Grand National Party (GNP) and the 81-seat main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP).
LFP leader Lee Hoi-chang and his ROKP counterpart Moon Kook-hyun agreed to ``cohabitate temporarily'' under the parliamentary partnership for the causes of three key policy agendas ― frustrating the cross-country waterway project, conditional approval of the imports of U.S. beef cuts only when the government secured the right to have quarantine inspections and promotion of small and medium-sized companies.
Sources said Lee is interested in the merger of the two parties in the long run.
Moon, however, dismissed the possible merger, making clear that their partnership would end when the above three core goals are achieved.
In the joint statement, the two leaders also shared the common goals that the Korea-U.S. alliance is important and the government should offer humanitarian assistance to Pyongyang.
Political analysts said the two parties will surely be better off in getting state subsides which are available to the parliamentary negotiation groups.
According to the current law, the 18-member LFP is entitled to receive between 400 and 500 million won to support their legislative activities. But the subsidy will more than triple when the ideologically different parties register themselves as ``the partner living without marriage.'' The alliance will also get funds to hire 10 paid policy advisors.
Despite the perks, the two minor parties could pay a price in the future.
The LFP is on the far right in platforms, including its hard line stance on North Korea.
The ROKP is pursuing capitalism based on humanism and seeking small and medium sized business - led economic growth, not conglomerates such as Samsung.
Their temporal partnership received immediate criticism from both the governing and opposition parties.
GNP Spokeswoman Cho Yoon-seon said their announcement is a shortsighted vision denying their past and future political path.
UDP Spokeswoman Cha Young said their partnership is no more than a self-denial of their political orientations and leaders of the two parties will pay the prices.