Parties to establish body to tackle disputes with Japan

Secretary-generals of five political parties hold hands before their meeting at the National Assembly, Monday, on the establishment of a bipartisan body to win the ongoing trade war with Japan. From left are Rep. Lim Jae-hun of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, Rep. Park Maeng-woo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Rep. Yun Ho-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Kim Kwang-soo of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace, and Kwon Tae-hong of the Justice Party. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Representatives of the nation's major political parties agreed Monday to establish a bipartisan consultative body this Wednesday, to tackle Japan's trade restrictions on the export of certain goods to Korean companies.

The move comes about two weeks after President Moon Jae-in and the leaders of the parties agreed, July 18, to establish a pan-national taskforce to build cooperation to respond to the ongoing trade war with Tokyo.

In addition, the floor leaders of the ruling Demoratic Party of Korea (DPK), the opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP) agreed to open an extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Aug. 1, to vote on a 7 trillion won ($5.9 billion) supplementary budget bill submitted by the government, which includes additional funding for industries affected by the export restrictions.

They also pledged to look into alleged security failures that allowed North Korean fishing boats to intrude into South Korean waters. In particular, the floor leaders agreed to adopt a resolution criticizing the intrusion of a Russian aircraft into South Korean airspace, while expressing regret over Chinese planes entering the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone.

“Given the urgent situation of the trade issue, the political parties agreed that that the consultative body needs to be formed this week and hold its first meeting,” Rep. Yun Ho-jung, DPK secretary-general told reporters after a meeting with his counterparts.

The taskforce, consisting of officials from the government and the political parties will discuss countermeasures to the export restrictions on key materials used to make high-tech products, and Japan removing South Korea from its “whitelist” of countries with preferential customs clearance for imports.

According to a joint announcement, relevant ministers and policy chiefs from Cheong Wa Dae and the parties as well as representatives from the private sector will participate in the taskforce.

From the business sector, these include the heads of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Enterprises Federation, Korea Federation of SMEs, the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea, Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

There have been calls for the political parties to stop their partisan strife and cooperate to deal with the trade difficulties stemming from intensified tensions with Japan.

Meanwhile, a delegation of South Korean lawmakers will visit Japan from Wednesday to Thursday to try and seek ways to resolve the trade row.

The delegation led by Rep. Suh Chung-won, an independent lawmaker includes the DPK's Rep. Kang Chang-il, who heads the South Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, a group of lawmakers promoting friendly ties between the countries, and Rep. Kim Kwang-lim of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).

The lawmakers plan to hold a luncheon meeting with Fukushiro Nukaga, a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and chairman of the Japan-South Korea Parliamentarians' League, and Kawamura Takeo, also of the LDP. While details of what they will discuss remain vague, officials said that they will look for ways to resolve the trade dispute.

The political parties had been unable to decide the schedule for the extraordinary session for months as they failed to agree on major issues.

The DPK wanted the opposition to pass the budget bill that includes 300 billion won for handling the trade dispute. However, the LKP and the BMP demanded an investigation into the security lapses.