NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA: HIGHLIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003029

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2011
TAGS: PGOV KS
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA: HIGHLIGHTS

REF: SEOUL 2917

Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) As the National Assembly convenes its 262nd session,
beginning September 1 and lasting a hundred days, politicians
and pundits alike anticipate a series of political battles as
the ruling and opposition parties struggle to gain the upper
hand. Given the stunning defeat for the ruling Uri party in
the May 31 local elections and a continuing downward spiral
of public opinion toward President Roh Moo-hyun, the
opposition Grand National Party (GNP) smelling blood, is
geared up to further discredit the Uri Party. The outcome of
the political battles in the legislature is especially
crucial because all are closely monitoring intra-party
movements for the presidential elections, to be held December

2007. END SUMMARY.

SCHEDULE
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2. (SBU) On September 8, the confirmation of presidential
appointees begins and the seventeen standing committees
convene to discuss and vote on issues under their respective
jurisdictions. The most important task for the Assembly, the
audit and inspection of the past year's administrative
activities and budget, is slated to begin on October 11,
which is immediately after the nation's biggest holiday,
Chuseok, or Thanksgiving. The inspection period will
continue throughout the month of October. On November 1, the
Roh government will give an administrative policy speech
concerning the 2007 draft budget, followed by speeches from
the chairmen of the negotiating committees in the next few
days. The session will conclude December 9.


NATIONAL BUDGET
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3. (C) The ruling party had initially proposed conducting
the audit of the past year's activities before the October
holiday season, but gave in to the GNP and minor opposition
parties' demand that it be held after the holidays. The
delay is a victory for the GNP which essentially bought more
time to harass the ruling party on other contentious issues
such as the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON)
and the "Sea Story" gambling scandal. (See Ref.) First-term
GNP lawmaker Jin Young told poloffs on August 22 that the
gambling scandal is likely to be an issue during the audit
process. Although President Roh apologized to the Korean
public about the scandal on August 31, the ongoing criminal
investigation into the involvement of lobbyists, businessmen,
and politicians, indicates that the issue will not fade from
the political scene in the near future.


4. (C) According to Park Sung-min, Director of Min
Consulting, a bipartisan political consulting firm, the
traditional order of the agenda has been 1) the audit of
state administration, 2) deliberation on legislation, 3)
budget for the upcoming year. Thus, the delay of the audit
raises the question of what will be done during September.
The opposition has suggested tackling legislation earlier
rather than later, but Park speculates that the ruling party
will try to delay deliberating on legislative bills to avoid
gridlock.

CONFIRMATION OF PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES
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5. (C) The National Assembly has the constitutional mandate
to remove a cabinet member from office at any time and to
confirm appointees, albeit in a pro-forma way. In theory,
the Assembly must open a confirmation hearing within twenty
days of receiving the request for confirmation. On August
16, President Roh nominated Chon Hyo-suk to head the
Constitutional Court, a nomination that triggered strong
protests from the conservative camp. Chon has been
criticized for her unwavering support for Roh during the 2004
impeachment and for a controversial measure to relocate the
capital. Her confirmation will likely be hotly contested.
If confirmed, Chon will become the first female Chief Justice
of the nation's highest court. The President also nominated
Vice Justice Minister Kim Hee-ok, another progressive and Roh
supporter, to replace one of the eight justices of the court.



OLD LAWS, NEW LAWS
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6. (C) Forty-one laws were passed during the extraordinary
session held from August 22-29, including a local real estate
tax cut and a law legalizing the confiscation of property
belonging to the heirs of Japanese collaborators. Media
pundits predict that many of the proposed bills not
deliberated upon during the extraordinary session will be
carried over into the regular session.


7. (C) The ever-controversial private school law, enacted in
1963 and revised more than 30 times, may be brought before
the Assembly to be revised yet again. Uri lawmaker and
Defense Committee member, Yoo Jay-kun told Donga Ilbo on
August 31, "There is a movement within the party to reform
the private school law aimed at targeting corruption." Yoo
further stated that the issue at hand was whether the Uri
would have to concede on the private school law in order to
get concessions from the GNP for their support of the public
welfare bill. Other controversial laws include regulation of
campaign finance and ballot counting, a labor-reform law
targeted at non-regular workers, and a possible law regarding
the development of Yongsan base once USFK relocates to
Pyeongtaek. The Seoul Metropolitan Government, headed by GNP
Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and the Ministry of Construction and
Transportation are currently engaged in a tug-of-war over how
the Yongsan land should be developed and who would finance
such development.

OPCON DEBATE
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8. (C) The transfer of wartime operational control is a
sensitive issue in South Korean society and politics. GNP
lawmakers, along with former defense chiefs, have repeatedly
criticized the planned transfer and have accused President
Roh of negligence in protecting the nation's security. The
Assembly's youngest member and representative from Busan, Kim
Hee-jung, told poloff on August 25, "for the GNP, the timing
of the OPCON transfer is most problematic since the
Peninsula's security situation is at its worst since the July
5 missile launchings." However, some pundits interpret the
GNP's opposition as ill-timed and misdirected especially when
the U.S. and the ROK have already mutually agreed upon the
transfer. Political consultant Park Sung-min told poloffs on
August 31, "the full complexity of the OPCON issue: the
political, economic, military, and historic dimensions, have
yet to be fully understood by members of the public."

COMMENT
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9. (C) While there are many controversial issues on the
horizon for this fall, experts claim that intra-party battles
will grow more heated in 2007 as the next presidential
election approaches. Uri and GNP politicians both anticipate
the completion of the U.S.-ROK Free Trade Agreement
negotiations and subsequent vote to flare up late this year
and early 2007. In the meantime, the Uri Party aims to
minimize the damage to its image and to prevent further
scandals from emerging. The GNP has its sights set on
boosting its chances of becoming the new ruling party in the
next Assembly elections in April 2008. END COMMENT.
STANTON