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Opposition criticize Saenuri for boycotting re-vote on revised parliamentary bill

Opposition criticize Saenuri for boycotting re-vote on revised parliamentary bill

Posted July. 06, 2015 23:15,   

한국어

Lawmakers of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Monday pressed Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on the issue of President Park Geun-hye`s veto of a revision bill for the National Assembly law after the bill was re-introduced to the main session.

NPAD lawmaker Park Beom-kye claimed that the president had conducted a "high-degree of political intervention." Another NPAD lawmaker, Kim Kwan-young, put pressure on the ruling Saenuri Party to participate in the voting on the bill, urging them to have "dignity and responsibility" as legislators. In following debates, NPAD lawmakers Lee Choon-suak, Choi Won-sik and Jin Sun-mee, who are all close to the opposition party`s floor leader Lee Jong-gul, tried to protect him who had lost ground after the president`s veto. He agreed with the ruling party on the voting in spite of opposition from within his party.

Earlier in the day, Moon Jae-in, the NPAD chairman, told a behind-closed-door meeting of NPAD lawmakers that "the politics of betrayal in which lawmakers submit to the president`s arrogance and self-righteousness would face the public`s stern judgment." He urged NPAD lawmakers to "protect parliamentary democracy."

Reportedly, many NPAD lawmakers showed a hardline stance, saying that if the revision bill is automatically scrapped because of the ruling party`s boycott, the NPAD should do the same for other bills, too. Representative Lee Mok-hee said, "If the ruling party refuses to participate in the voting, we should boycott all parliamentary schedules that include voting on 61 bills." Representative Yoon Hu-deok also criticized the ruling party for being "eunuchs" who are submissive to the president.