LEAD) 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.
At a meeting of party leaders later in the day, Hong said that he plans to give
sufficient time for prosecutors to carry out pending probes involving lawmakers,
who may avoid investigation using their immunity from arrest during sessions.
Chung Sye-kyun, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, said during a
party meeting that the session closed with the "worst report card," blaming the
ruling party for the sidelined bills.
"We failed to fully block plans initiated by the government but we have secured
(a promise to set up) a consultive body to review the proposed media bills,"
Chung said, referring to an agreement reached on Monday to delay voting on
disputed media industry reform plans.
After a tense month-long tug of war, the GNP and the DP agreed to put four
disputed media industry reform bills to a plenary session vote after 100 days of
further discussions also involving civic activist groups.
The media bills, if passed in the Assembly's plenary session, would make way for
simultaneous ownership of print and broadcast media, allowing conglomerates and
newspapers to own up to a 20 percent share in terrestrial broadcasters. Private
firms and newspapers would be allowed to secure a maximum 49 percent stake in
general and news-only cable TV stations, while foreigners would be allowed to
own up to 20 percent of Korean cable TV broadcasters.
The DP and media industry workers have been fiercely opposed to the bills,
contending that the reforms would lead to a monopoly of the media by a handful of
companies, undermining the media's ability to criticize the government.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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