President blasts opposition for rift over reform bills

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak strongly denounced opposition
parties Monday, accusing them of creating an unnecessary rift in parliament at a
time when the country must pool its efforts to fight the global economic
downturn.
The remarks from his 10th radio address come amid a heated debate at the National
Assembly over a set of government bills that have starkly divided the ruling and
opposition parties over the past weeks.
"The one thing I envied about the countries I visited during my trip was whether
they were developed or developing, there was no difference between ruling or
opposition parties in trying to overcome the economic crisis," Lee said of his
three-nation trip that took him to New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.
He returned home Sunday evening.
The president noted that a recent agreement between labor and business
organizations to create more jobs by cutting wages and shaving working hours was
a historic accord that will be highly praised by the rest of the world.
"However, regrettably there are some people here and there, although they are
few, who unconditionally oppose whatever the government does," Lee said in the
address recorded on his flight back home, adding such opposition has no just
cause.
The political rift dividing the National Assembly was highlighted in the past two
weeks when the ruling Grand National Party tried to ram through a set of
government proposed bills.
At the heart of the latest struggle are a set of media reform bills, one of which
would allow the ownership of terrestrial broadcasters by private businesses and
newspapers.
Lee and his ruling party claim the legislation will help create tens of thousands
of jobs by allowing a significant expansion of the media industry, but the main
opposition Democratic Party strongly opposes the move, claiming it is an attempt
to control influential broadcasters.
The president said it was time for everyone to join their efforts to overcome the
crisis now facing the country.
"I believe in our workers and laborers who voluntarily came forward to share jobs
and in our businesspeople who are going around the world to sell at least one
more product, and that is why we have hope," he said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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