By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The National Assembly secretariat Wednesday filed a complaint with the prosecution against opposition party lawmakers and their secretaries for instigating a violent clash at the Assembly last Thursday.
They include Reps. Moon Hak-jin of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Lee Jung-hee of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), who joined the melee involving lawmakers of the governing and opposition parties over a motion to submit the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States to the Assembly floor.
``The two legislators are accused of contempt of the Assembly speaker and committing damage to public facilities, while five secretaries are additionally accused of mob violence,'' the secretariat said.
The office also asked prosecutors to investigate how items such as a sledgehammer and a crowbar could be brought into the National Assembly.
To prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, it plans to tighten security in and around the Assembly and prepare regulations to ban violent clashes in the legislature.
Last Thursday, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) unilaterally introduced a motion to ratify the FTA in a closed-door committee session. The party soon advanced it to an Assembly subcommittee for deliberations, the last step before a final vote.
The GNP says the trade deal had to be approved as soon as possible, preferably this year, because the country, which is heavily dependent on exports, is expected to gain much from the pact.
Opposition party members smashed up the doors with a sledgehammer and even used a chainsaw in an attempt to stop the unilateral action.
They have claimed that the ruling camp must present protective measures for farmers and businesspeople, who are vulnerable to increased U.S. imports, before passing the motion.
The four-hour brawl damaged doors, tables and carpets, with damages estimated at 19.8 milion won (nearly $15,000) and left one Assembly guard with an injury that will take three weeks to heal.
The clock is ticking for the opposition parties, as the GNP set Dec. 25 as the date it will finish discussing how to ratify the motion.
Once the contentious motion is advanced to the main floor of the Assembly, the ruling party can pass it since it commands more than a majority of 172 seats in the 299-member unicameral legislature. The DP has 83 seats.
DP Chairman Chung Se-kyun questioned why governing party secretaries who sprayed fire extinguishers were not listed in the complaint.