Opposition parties should show due respect to acting president

Opposition parties should show due respect to acting president. December. 15, 2016 07:24. pisong@donga.com.

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said during his meeting on Wednesday with National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun that he would make efforts to stabilize the political situation by ensuring "sufficient communication" with parliament. Chung asked the acting president to positively consider a parliamentary proposal to set up a joint policy consultative body. At a time of national crisis in which President Park Geun-hye has been impeached by the National Assembly, it is meaningful that the acting president and the National Assembly speaker met with each other and promised to cooperate with state affairs.

Seeing how the opposition parties, which have majority seats in the National Assembly, are treating the acting president, however, it is worrisome whether the cooperation will go as promised. Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Party, told a party supreme committee meeting that Hwang was acting like a president as if he had been looking forward to the president’s impeachment, although he is also under a no-confidence situation with the impeachment. The party’s floor leader Woo Sang-ho also booed at Hwang, saying, “Prime Minister Hwang, you are not the president.” Opposition parties are arrogant and show low class in dealing with the acting president. It is not right for the opposition parties to act as if “occupying forces” toward the acting president.

Huh Won-jea, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, asked Park Jie-won, the floor leader of the minor opposition People’s Party, on Wednesday to accept Hwang’s absence from the upcoming parliamentary hearings next week, only to be rejected. Hwang is reluctant to be present at the hearings, claiming that under the Constitution, the president is not required to attend the hearings, and that there is no precedent for an acting president to show up at a parliamentary hearing.

However, we believe that on this matter, Hwang should take a more positive attitude toward the hearings, rather than citing the Constitution or precedents. The public is wondering how Hwang will lead the government. As an acting president and the prime minister, Hwang can provide honest and sincere answers to questions from lawmakers who represent the electorate and let other ministers answer the questions on matters that he is not very familiar to. In return, opposition parties should not tie him up at the parliament, considering that Hwang is the acting president.

Hwang should also take a positive attitude toward the bipartisan policy consultative body, although it cannot be in operation immediately due to the absence of the ruling party’s floor leader. Although there may be formality issues over the opposition parties’ proposal for a meeting with Hwang without the ruling party’s participation, Hwang cannot run the government without the opposition parties’ support. As the acting president, he should ask for their help when necessary as well as say no to unacceptable demands from them. We hope to see the government, the National Assembly, and rival parties to go beyond their own interest and cooperate for the sake of the nation and the people.