Lawmakers gather together for group picture

Lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party, the main opposition Democratic Party, the minor opposition Justice Party and the Unified Progressive Party, together with other independent legislators, pose for a group photo in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. It was the first such group portrait in 66 years. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun

By Jun Ji-hye

Lawmakers gathered together Monday to pose for a rare group photo against the backdrop of the National Assembly.

The group picture of all legislators from both the ruling and opposition parties was the first taken in 66 years.

There is one of the inaugural lawmakers taken in 1948 when the National Assembly first convened, but those in the photograph are mostly unrecognizable in the blurred picture.

This latest group shot was part of an unveiling ceremony for a large-sized bronze image of the 1948 picture which shows all of the then 199 lawmakers and secretary general of the National Assembly. The image was placed at the Assembly hall on the second floor of the main building.

In explaining the reasons for the absence of group pictures of parliamentary members, an official from the administrative office said, “Soon after the first Assembly convened, the Korean War broke out in 1950. Then, the nation went through various political upheavals. This might be why.”

As examples of the political upheavals, he cited the April 19 Revolution in 1960 in which students took to the streets to protest against election rigging by then authoritarian leader Syngman Rhee, and the May 16 military coup in 1961 led by then Major General Park Chung-hee, the father of President Park Geun-hye.

National Assembly secretary-general Chung Jin-suk, who proposed the idea of the group picture, said, “Taking a group picture will be a chance for lawmakers to show commitment to joining forces to improve the people’s living standards. The picture is also valuable as a historical document.”