House speaker proposes meeting over parliamentary session

SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- The speaker of South Korea's parliament, Kim Hyung-o,
has proposed a meeting with floor leaders from the ruling and opposition parties
to decide when an extraordinary session of the National Assembly will open amid
escalating political chaos, officials said Tuesday.

The National Assembly's June session has been delayed for weeks due to a conflict
over several controversial reform bills endorsed by the ruling Grand National
Party (GNP), but strongly opposed by its main rival.
The GNP-sponsored bills cover tax rate changes, revising laws on media ownership
and regulations on temporary employment, all of which the Democratic Party (DP)
has vowed to block.
The DP is also demanding that President Lee Myung-bak apologize for the May 23
suicide of his predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, arguing that the prosecution drove the
former president to his death by conducting a politically motivated corruption
probe.
In March, floor leaders agreed to put off handling the disputed bills until June,
but talks between the two parties on convening parliament broke down last
weekend.
sam@yna.co.kr
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