Opposition says president’s call for patience an attempt to derail fee reductions


Parties in Tuesday’s parliamentary education committee general meeting quarreled over the president’s call for more time on the controversial university tuition fee cuts.

Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party accused the presidential office of attempting to pressure the National Assembly to abandon their move to halve college tuition fees.

They also claimed that it used political leverage to block the parliamentary judicial reform committee’s plan to abolish a prosecutorial investigation body.

The ruling Grand National Party, however, said that the opposition camp had distorted the president’s intentions and had played a political game with the tuition issue.

“Let us not rush. I urge all to take more time and arrange plausible alternatives (to the present tuition system),” President Lee Myunb-bak said earlier Monday in a Cheong Wa Dae meeting.

Lee’s comments caused a stir among the public as many thought that he effectively vetoed the attempts to slash tuition fees.

When the ruling party lawmakers suggested they hold an open hearing on tuition fees, the opposition accused them of reneging on their earlier pledges.

“The president’s comments are an act of interference in parliamentary discussions,” said Rep. An Min-suk of the DP.

“If the GNP were determined to realize their tuition cut plan, they would not suddenly step back just because the president showed reluctance.”

Rep. Kwon Young-jin of the GNP, in response, said the DP had distorted the issue.

“The DP, too, has recently made drastic changes in its tuition policies,” he said.

“We all need to give things more time and thought before driving the issue.”

Another GNP member, Rep. Cho Jeon-hyeok claimed that the people are as concerned about how the government would fund the tuition fee reduction as they are about fee cuts, and that the plan requires a thorough economic feasibility study.

Meanwhile, the foreign affairs committee reached an agreement over the controversial Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement bill.

“The vice floor leaders of both parties have agreed to form a joint consultative body on the free trade bill and related issues,” said the GNP spokesperson.

The joint body is to consist of both GNP and DP lawmakers, together with the finance, foreign and agriculture ministers, she said.

The FTA bill has so far been pending. The DP demanded a renegotiation and vowed to block the GNP’s proposed public hearing on Thursday.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)