Key economic bills fail to pass parliament

SEOUL, March 4 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) will seek to
convene a special parliamentary session later this month to push through a score
of economic reform bills sidelined during the just-ended extra session amid
fierce bipartisan wrangling, its floor leader said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the last day of the month-long special session that began in early
February, the GNP and opposition parties passed a pro-business bill that
abolishes a regulation barring conglomerates with more than 10 trillion won
(US$6.5 billion) in assets from investing in their affiliates or other companies
in excess of 40 percent of their net worth.
The rival parties also ratified a bill that will give impetus to the government's
bid to privatize the Korea Development Bank.
But the rival parties failed to vote on a number of disputed economic and media
reform bills, including one allowing non-financial companies to own up to 10
percent of commercial banks and 20 percent of private equity funds, due to
partisan disputes. At present, the bank equity ownership ceiling for industrial
conglomerates is set at 4 percent.
They also failed to vote on bills to convert all terrestrial television programs
into digital broadcasts, consolidate the nation's four major insurance systems,
and reinforce the protection of intellectual property rights.
The next parliamentary session is slated for April, but Hong Joon-pyo, GNP floor
leader, said his party will push to hold a special session during March to
approve a number of "economically urgent" bills that were not put to a vote on
Tuesday.
"About 16 (important) bills were not put to a vote on Tuesday. The ruling party
will seek to convene another extra session in late March," Hong said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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