ID :
19696
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 13:53
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/19696
The shortlink copeid
Voting fiasco: Public discontent grows over party politics (EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Sept. 16)
It is a pity that the governing Grand National Party (GNP) failed to pass a government-initiated supplementary budget bill in the National Assembly's Budget and Account Committee last Friday. What's really regrettable is that the majority party could not get approval for the bill because it did not meet a quorum.
Where were GNP members of the committee?
There is little doubt that the GNP lacks in discipline among its members who are
required to represent their constituencies and promote the interests of the
people. The reason for not meeting the quorum was because some GNP members of the
panel were taking part in events in their constituencies ahead of the Sept. 13-15
Chuseok holiday. (Chuseok is the full moon harvest day.)
A quorum needs 26 lawmakers on the 50-member budget panel. Disappointingly, only
22 of GNP's 29 committee members showed up for the session. The voting took place
with only 25 committee members, including three from minor conservative parties,
present. Legislators of the main opposition Democratic Party were absent due to
their objection to the 4.9 trillion won ($4.4 billon) supplementary budget bill.
The fiasco has dealt a severe setback not only to the GNP but also to the Lee
Myung-bak administration which proposed the bill to help households, especially
low-income families, ease their financial burden for electricity and gas charges.
Under the bill, the government planned to provide 1.6 trillion won and 840
billion won in subsidies to Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Gas
Corp. (KGC), respectively.
The injection of the budget into the two state-run firms is aimed at preventing
excess hikes in utility charges which have come under strong inflationary
pressure due to soaring prices of oil and gas. Actually the government plans to
raise electricity and gas charges by 7.8 percent and 5 percent, respectively,
after Chuseok. But unless the subsidies are provided to KEPCO and KGC, the
government will have to add an additional increase of 2.75 percent for
electricity and 3.4 percent for gas.
Worries are growing that consumers might pay more for electricity and gas amid
the GNP's inability to deal with the budget bill. The Lee administration's
promise to stabilize utility charges and help rein in soaring inflation is now
being put to the test. And the voting humiliation is also feared to bring about
internal division in the GNP. More serious is that the public distrust in
political parties and the legislature is deepening.
The GNP has come under criticism for attempting to railroad the bill without
making compromises with the opposition parties. In the eyes of the people,
lawmakers are still seen as struggling only for their partisan interests at the
expense of the public good. The GNP needs to replace its leaders, including its
floor leader, to get out of the deadlock and regain its lost public trust. It is
imperative that lawmakers of both governing and opposition parties should stop
their partisan struggles and better serve the people and the nation.
Where were GNP members of the committee?
There is little doubt that the GNP lacks in discipline among its members who are
required to represent their constituencies and promote the interests of the
people. The reason for not meeting the quorum was because some GNP members of the
panel were taking part in events in their constituencies ahead of the Sept. 13-15
Chuseok holiday. (Chuseok is the full moon harvest day.)
A quorum needs 26 lawmakers on the 50-member budget panel. Disappointingly, only
22 of GNP's 29 committee members showed up for the session. The voting took place
with only 25 committee members, including three from minor conservative parties,
present. Legislators of the main opposition Democratic Party were absent due to
their objection to the 4.9 trillion won ($4.4 billon) supplementary budget bill.
The fiasco has dealt a severe setback not only to the GNP but also to the Lee
Myung-bak administration which proposed the bill to help households, especially
low-income families, ease their financial burden for electricity and gas charges.
Under the bill, the government planned to provide 1.6 trillion won and 840
billion won in subsidies to Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Gas
Corp. (KGC), respectively.
The injection of the budget into the two state-run firms is aimed at preventing
excess hikes in utility charges which have come under strong inflationary
pressure due to soaring prices of oil and gas. Actually the government plans to
raise electricity and gas charges by 7.8 percent and 5 percent, respectively,
after Chuseok. But unless the subsidies are provided to KEPCO and KGC, the
government will have to add an additional increase of 2.75 percent for
electricity and 3.4 percent for gas.
Worries are growing that consumers might pay more for electricity and gas amid
the GNP's inability to deal with the budget bill. The Lee administration's
promise to stabilize utility charges and help rein in soaring inflation is now
being put to the test. And the voting humiliation is also feared to bring about
internal division in the GNP. More serious is that the public distrust in
political parties and the legislature is deepening.
The GNP has come under criticism for attempting to railroad the bill without
making compromises with the opposition parties. In the eyes of the people,
lawmakers are still seen as struggling only for their partisan interests at the
expense of the public good. The GNP needs to replace its leaders, including its
floor leader, to get out of the deadlock and regain its lost public trust. It is
imperative that lawmakers of both governing and opposition parties should stop
their partisan struggles and better serve the people and the nation.
