Ruling government scrambles to contain voter backlash
The Hankyoreh | 23.11.2011
Ruling government scrambles to contain voter backlash
Following the controversial railroading of the KORUS FTA, DP boycotts standing committee meetings including budget talks
By Seong Han-yong, Political Correspondent
Observers are predicting a standstill in political operations for the foreseeable future following the ruling Grand National Party’s surprise passage of the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) railroading Tuesday.
In particular, an intense campaign of opposition to the Lee Myung-bak and GNP is being foreseen from civil society, labor and farmer groups, and the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), which have expressed strenuous objections to the KORUS FTA.
Two areas are being pointed to as decisive variables in determining the course of political affairs. First is the approach taken by President Lee Myung-bak and the GNP. The rejection of Lee and the GNP observed in 2010’s June 2 by-elections and this year’s April 27 and Oct. 26 by-elections is still a widespread phenomenon. Apart from the issue of support for or opposition to the content of the FTA itself, the GNP’s surprise railroading of the ratification Tuesday stands a strong chance of having an unfavorable impact on the administration due to its “procedural violence.” For this reason, the approach taken by Lee and the GNP will be of major importance.
A direct response to popular anger presents the risk of an uncontrollable disaster. But observers said the Lee Myung-bak government could block the momentum for any resistance by the opposition and other opponents by giving a persuasive after-the-fact explanation on the unavoidability of the ratification’s passage
A second factor is the tenor of response from the DP and other opposition parties. Observers are predicting an intransigent battle for the time being, including a boycott of the National Assembly schedule. DP floor leader Kim Jin-pyo said the DP would halt all National Assembly Standing Committee meetings in the immediate future.
The DP cited the need to remove “toxic provisions” in their reason for strongly opposing the KORUS FTA ratification, saying the provisions would have serious side effects and establish at least some measures to protect those who would be harmed.
Analysts said the DP’s outrage is unlikely to dissipate quickly because the Lee government not only rejected its demands but also undertook a surprise passage of the ratification while completely excluding the opposition.
However, a number of the DP lawmakers have in fact been in favor of ratifying the KORUS FTA. An additional factor in the DP‘s unbending opposition to the ratification has been political, namely its need to build trust with the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), with its close ties to labor unions, and civil society, in order to ally with them in the National Assembly elections on April 11 of next year. In the long term, the DP’s battle with the ruling party was ultimately going to be a limited one.
Impeded operations for the National Assembly would mean problems for review of the 2012 budget, the most important immediate goal of the regular session. The figure adjustment subcommittee of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts was until recently in the midst of reviewing the budget, but the review was suspended due to Tuesday’s surprise railroading of the FTA. It is now unclear whether the legal passage deadline of Dec. 2 will be met.
Failure to pass the budget would mean a political burden for the Lee government. For this reason, observers are predicting the GNP will make attempts to somehow bring the DP into a budget review.
The DP is likewise frustrated, since opting for an extraparliamentary struggle would leave open the possibility of a railroading of the budget by the GNP as well.
