By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Two former presidents presented contrasting views Thursday over the largest opposition Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers’ protests to frustrate the governing Grand National Party’s (GNP) go-it-alone approach on media bills pending in the legislature.
In a speech on New Year’s Day, former President Kim Dae-jung said the nation is now facing crises regarding democracy, the economy and inter-Korean relations. ``Our democracy is being challenged. I’m afraid democracy is retreating by 20-30 years,’’ Kim said.
He said the GNP’s attempt to control the press and the Internet, prompted the opposition lawmakers to stage sit-in protests in the National Assembly. He urged the governing party to scrap the controversial bills, characterizing them as a plan to repress the public who gather information through the Internet.
Kim said the people were too smart to be controlled.
He praised the largest opposition DP for staging the protests to block the GNP’s passage of the bills, saying the party had done a good job.
Meanwhile, former President Kim Young-sam presented a very different view over the blocking of the bills. He said that democracy works on the basis of majority rule and therefore the GNP, which has 172 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, would not be representing the will of the people who voted for it in last April’s elections if it continued to sit idly on the bills.
``If opposition party members use violence to occupy the National Assembly, what is the need for elections?’’ he said. ``The principle of democracy is the rule of the majority. It’s not right for the ruling party to remain powerless.’’
Kim made the remarks at a meeting with GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae and other governing party lawmakers.