(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Sept. 14)

We must watch the watchers

When United States President Barack Obama delivered a prime-time address on
health care reform to a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, a Republican
House member shouted ???You lie!??? To be sure, it makes no sense to heckle a
president at the U.S. Congress, which asks members to maintain their dignity.


As
the public and even the House member???s party colleagues showered him with harsh
criticism, he apologized for his ???inappropriate and regretful remarks.??? It is
worth noting that more than 3,000 voters solicited up to $100,000 in donations to
support the congressman???s Democratic rival in a single day.
Compared to the violence and verbal abuse in Korea???s National Assembly, calling
the president a liar is a drop in the ocean. Abusive language is nothing to us,
and incidents involving hammers, power saws and organized violences are an
everyday occurrence here. But an intentional act of self-injury causing
substantial damage to the dignity and authority of the Assembly is a matter of
grave concern.
A few days ago, Korean Democratic Party lawmakers walked out of the main chamber
of the National Assembly holding banners demanding that National Assembly Speaker
Kim Hyong-o step down while he delivered a speech to mark the opening of this
year???s regular session. During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Rhyu Si-min
administered the oath of office in the Assembly Chamber wearing a beige-colored
jacket, T-shirt, and cotton trousers, and received harsh criticism from Grand
National Party members. Although the Assembly is not the place for frivolous
quarreling, hunger strikes, sit-down protests and haircutting became commonplace
there long ago. Some members have no regard for the Assembly, and they wrongly
believe that lawmakers have the right to behave this way. For years, the Assembly
has been plagued by the idea that members can abandon their dignity on a whim.
There are ways to prevent such violations from occurring again, with measures to
impose some legal restrictions on them under deliberation at the Assembly.
However, we face many difficulties in implementing such regulations due to the
complicated conflicts between the opposition and the ruling party. As shown in
the U.S., it can be effective for voters to raise their awareness and act to
support their principles. For example, each voter can stage a group protest or
vote against a lawmaker who has made slanderous remarks.
Although there may be more legal hurdles and adverse side effects than the
massive movements to defeat lawmakers led by civic groups in the past, a large
number of individual campaigns to protect the Assembly could serve as a more
powerful watchdog than anything else.
(END)