President Park Geun-hye reiterated her calls Tuesday for the National Assembly to pass the pending bills on labor reforms, lambasting the political bickering among lawmakers which she said “only magnifies the pain of the young generation.”

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, she also stressed the need for legislation designed to head off possible terrorist attacks on the back of the surge of the Islamic State extremist group and its threats against Seoul as a staunch U.S. ally.

“While the National Assembly is locked up in an ideological battle taking the hopes of the youth as its hostage in order to serve vested interests, the youngsters’ pain is growing by the day,” Park said, pointing out that the regular parliamentary session is due to end Wednesday.

“If the Assembly ends up scuttling labor reform bills by acting against its campaign for job creation, the people’s aspirations will turn to disappointment and rage.” 

The ruling and opposition camps agreed last week to take on the bills, but little progress has since been made due chiefly to the relentless internal troubles within the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy and standoffs over other issues.

With only one day remaining before the session’s term concludes, other proposals will also expire, such as for boosting the service industry, supporting businesses and promoting the human rights of North Koreans, the passage of which the president has repeatedly urged.

On the antiterrorism law, Park regretted the lack of what she called a basic legislative framework with which to counter potential terror attacks, which was first floated about 15 years ago.

“The world knows that our country does not have any fundamental legislative system to prevent a terror attack. The IS, too, know it,” she said.

“If the bill does not pass this time again, it will block the government from cooperating with other countries to stave off possible terror attacks and exchange information. This is no different from the political circle, which is in charge of the people’s lives and safety, leaving the people exposed to danger.”

The bill has gained fresh vigor after the IS’ recent simultaneous attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Park visited the city last week for the U.N. climate conference.

In November, the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition NPAD agreed to kick-start talks for a swift passage of the antiterrorism bill, though the NPAD remains wary of the National Intelligence Service having greater authority.

(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)