Majority of Koreans back reform bills: poll

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, center, exchanges barbs with members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) who occupied his office to protest the other parties' attempt to fast-track reform bills at the National Assembly, Wednesday. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and three opposition parties agreed Tuesday to fast-track bills on electoral reform and the establishment of a new investigative unit handling cases related to ranking government officials and the President's relatives. They excluded the LKP. / Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

According to a poll released Wednesday, more than half of South Koreans surveyed back the four parties' agreement to fast-track reform bills despite fierce objection by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).

The survey by Realmeter showed 50.9 percent of the 504 respondents favor the Assembly's attempt to bring bills on electoral reform, the establishment of a unit to investigate corruption allegations connected to high-ranking government officials and increasing the police's investigative authority to a vote, while 33.6 percent opposed it.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and three opposition parties agreed Tuesday to fast-track the bills after months of discussions. The DPK, the Bareunmirae Party (BMP), the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the Justice Party held their own general meetings to push for the swift passage of the bills. A law on fast-tracking bills was passed to prevent them from being held up in the Assembly for too long after failing to win bipartisan support.

Under the agreement, the new investigative body will look into corruption allegations connected to high-ranking officials, request courts to issue warrants and file objections with the courts over prosecution decisions not to file charges. The body will also be able to file charges against judges, prosecutors and high-ranking police officers.

The parties also agreed to pass a bill on redrawing electoral precincts and increase the number of proportional representatives to 75 from 47. The DPK holds 128 National Assembly seats out of 300, while the Liberty Korea Party holds 114, the BMP has 29, the PDP 14 and the Justice Party six.

Despite the positive sentiment and parties' initial approval of the move, the LKP suddenly began opposing it, saying it “went against parliamentary democracy” and the bills were the ruling camp's move to extend “leftist rule.” It began a sit-in protest Tuesday at the Assembly and pledged to hold a street protest in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, Saturday.

On Wednesday, the LKP continued its protest.

Eighty LKP members occupied the office of National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, blocking him from leaving and demanding he not approve the BMP's alleged attempt to remove its lawmaker, Rep. Oh Shin-hwan, from a committee handling the fast-tracking move.

Moon said he will make a final decision after reviewing similar cases.

A scuffle later ensued as Moon attempted to leave his office and he was later hospitalized due to, according to his aides, fatigue.

The leadership of the BMP led by floor leader Rep. Kim Kwan-young submitted a letter to the National Assembly office asking for Oh to be removed from the committee and replaced with Rep. Chae Yi-bai who supports the fast-track approach. However, a group of BMP lawmakers led by Rep. Yoo Seong-min tried to block him from entering the office.

Oh's objection to the bills was anticipated because he openly opposed them. Therefore, the party leadership has been trying to remove him in order to secure the necessary votes to push the move forward.

According to the National Assembly Law, fast-tracked bills should be reviewed first by the related standing committee for up to 180 days and put to a committee vote. In this case, the bills on the investigative unit and giving more power to the police, must be looked at by the National Assembly Special Committee on Political and Judicial Reform belongs, upon which Oh serves.

Due to the difference between the BMP leadership and Oh, divisions surfaced again between the two parties that merged to form the BMP ― the People's Party led by Ahn Cheol-soo, which pursued so-called “reasonable progress,” and the Bareun Party led by Yoo, standing for “reformist” conservatism.