Reformative lawmakers accuse leadership of sidestepping democracy
The fallout from last week’s rejection of an arrest motion for the Saenuri Party’s Rep. Chung Doo-un continued as reformative Saenuri lawmakers accused the party leadership of sidestepping democracy for the sake of Rep. Park Geun-hye’s presidential bid.
While the party leadership tried to contain the backlash, growing in-house discontent with the pro-Park leadership reflected the widening gulf between party factions.
“Yes, we need to win in this presidential election and create a successful president. However, I express grave concern over the current state of democracy in the party,” said Rep. Nam Kyung-pil at a press conference on Sunday.
Nam was referring to the decision by party members to urge Chung, who had faced detainment to attend a court review of his arrest warrant for bribery, to “take responsibility,” which could include him leaving the party.
Spurred by Park Geun-hye’s comments on Friday that Chung should “resolve this matter himself,” the leadership urged Chung to respond to the prosecutorial probe and effectively renounce his immunity from arrest.
At the urging of the leadership, floor leader Lee Hahn-koo also reportedly withdrew his earlier decision to resign for failing to have the arrest motion passed. Lee will resume his role and deliver a speech at the National Assembly Monday.
The detainment of Chung sought by the prosecution was rejected in an assembly vote on Wednesday joined by 271 ruling and opposition party lawmakers, among which 156 opposed.
“It is an extremely dogmatic and arrogant judgment to offer a public apology over a decision made by an individual lawmaker at the main plenary session of the National Assembly,” Rep. Kim Sung-tae said in a radio interview on Saturday.
By law, the arrest of an incumbent lawmaker during a working session must receive approval from a majority of lawmakers.
The vote appeared to deal a blow to Park in particular, as the arrest of independent lawmaker Park Joo-sun, sentenced to a two-year jail term for illegal campaigning, was approved during the same session.
“It is our only choice at the moment to show the people that the Saenuri Party places the people first over anything else and that it is devoted to pushing ahead with drastic reform in order to win back support,” a party member said on condition of anonymity.
The Saenuri Party has been touting political reform in the lead up to the presidential election, including a pledge to give up various lawmakers’ privileges such as pensions.
Former Saenuri Party member and Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee said the lawmakers’ rejection of the arrest was wrong, whatever the reason may have been.
“The ruling and opposition parties competed against each other to be the first to give up their privileges, and the first step toward it was to relinquish the immunity from arrest,” Kang said in an interview with KBS.
“While they say the motions for arrest between (Chung Doo-un and Park Joo-sun) were different in nature, the essence of them, having been requested by the state, was the same,” he added.
Although Park Geun-hye’s close aides claimed she has never directly discussed the relinquishment of immunity from arrest and is therefore not responsible, her call on Chung was viewed as an attempt to quash criticism by the opposition.
Park, in a rare public statement, told reporters, “The party pledged to give up its privileges and to humbly serve the people, but failed to keep that promise.”
Saneuri Party chairman Hwang Woo-yea also followed suit, apologizing for the lawmakers’ rejection of Chung’s arrest.
But the non-Park faction continued its denouncement of the leadership.
“The leadership must apologize instead for unilaterally pushing (the members to approve the arrest) without communication or a consensus, for failing to raise questions over the procedural error (in the arrest motion), and for pledging to relinquish the immunity to arrest without correcting accompanying legal flaws,” Nam said.
Park’s in-house rival and presidential hopeful Ahn Sang-soo, a former Incheon City mayor, joined the growing calls against Park.
“It is regretful to see the party reversing its decision just because public opinion is negative despite how (the votes) were cast, and to rashly discuss party defection disregarding the proper process,” Ahn said at a press briefing on Sunday.
Chung had argued that the current system did not allow him to voluntarily appear at the court, instead requiring a parliamentary consensus, which he claimed could place his political career in jeopardy regardless of the court’s eventual decision on the validity of his arrest. Chung said he will attend the questioning after the on-going Assembly session closes in August.
Chung is suspected of colluding with former Saenuri lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk, an older brother of President Lee Myung-bak, in receiving kickbacks from a failing savings bank executive in 2007.
By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
