ID :
71118
Sun, 07/19/2009 - 20:48
Auther :

Ruling party's plan to pass media reform bills hits stumbling block


(ATTN: ADDS presidential spokesman's response in para 14)
SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- A plan by the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) to
push through a set of disputed media reform bills this week hit a stumbling block
Sunday after a former head of the party emerged as an opponent of the
controversial legislation.
The GNP has warned the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) that unless a
compromise is reached within the day between the two parties, the GNP will ask
Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o, former GNP floor leader, to invoke his authority
and call a vote on the bills.
The GNP, which controls 169 seats in the 299-member unicameral house, was
expected to use its majority power to railroad through the bills with the help of
the National Assembly speaker.
But the move by the ruling party was followed by reports that Park Geun-hye, a
former head of the GNP, was opposed to the bills proposed by her party.
"If I attend (the National Assembly session to vote on the bills), it would be to
vote against them," she was quoted by one of her aides as saying.
Park, daughter of the late former South Korean president Park Chung-hee, leads
one of the two major GNP factions and is said to be among the candidates to
become the country's next president. The other powerful faction is composed of
lawmakers loyal to President Lee Myung-bak.
The internal division caused by Park's remarks emboldened the opposition party in
its opposition to the bills, with DP Spokesman Noh Young-min saying, "Park has
made a difficult decision by following the public's will (against the bills)."
While the conservative ruling party claims that the bills -- centered on lifting
a ban on cross-ownership of print media and television stations -- would promote
competition in the media industry, the DP argues the reform drive reflects a
conservative push to control the media and will only benefit the country's major
conservative newspapers.
Later in the day, DP chief Chung Se-kyun went on hunger strike at his office at
the National Assembly, to emphasize his party's objection to the proposed media
bill and requested a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak over the issue.
"In order to uphold the people's wish against media controlled by plutocrats or
cliques, I am here to take the ultimate step," Chung told a press conference.
"I would like to have direct negotiations with President Lee Myung-bak, who is
responsible for the actions made by the ruling party and is practically pushing
the bill to pass."
It is the first such move involving a chairman of the largest opposition party
since 2003, when the head of GNP, then the largest opposition party, went on a
10-day hunger strike.
"The hunger strike will continue until the GNP lawmakers give their word not to
pass the bill on their own," a DP official said.
Presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan, however, said the ruling and opposition
camps had agreed to put the bills to a vote and the promise to the public must be
kept, an implicit rejection of Chung's demand for the talks with Lee which raised
the prospect of a deepened tussle over the bills.
The rival parties have been at odds over the media reform bills for over eight
months.
The GNP appears pressed for time, as the ongoing extraordinary parliamentary
session will end on Saturday. The next regular session will open in September.
The DP, which holds 84 seats, has vowed to mobilize all possible means to block
the GNP from attempting to unilaterally put the bills to a vote.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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