[EDITORIAL] Does the Ruling Party Understand?

Is the ruling Millennium Democratic Party really a democratic party adhering to the principles of a parliamentary system? This party has taken a lawmaker from the opposition Grand National Party to the prosecution and demanded that he be stripped of his National Assembly seat. This came about because during a parliamentary inspection session, the opposition lawmaker dared to mention the real names of three ruling party representatives, who until then had been merely described as the three "Mr. Ks" in the controversial Dongbang Mutual Savings and Finance Co. illegal-loan case. The ruling party's logic is that the representative in question attacked the Millennium Democratic Party and its lawmakers as part of a political scheme, knowing full well that his accusation was unfounded. Therefore, his action constitutes a case of political maneuvering that abuses lawmakers' privilege of exemption from liability.

Many countries guarantee immunity to their lawmakers in their constitution to allow them to delve into all areas of government affairs without fear of prosecution. They are entitled to freedom of speech in parliament so that they will not be forced to succumb to the powers that be or any other external threats.

Thanks to this privilege, during Korea's military dictatorship, representatives were able to make statements criticizing the dictatorship and could broach subjects in the National Assembly that were otherwise considered to be taboo in those days ?the issues of reunification and the ideological inclination of the people, for example. This record notwithstanding, the ruling party seems to want to deny this privilege to opposition lawmakers, causing us to wonder whether they have failed to understand even the basics of parliamentary politics.

If the demand that the opposition lawmaker be relieved of his position stems from the fact that he brought up the names of President Kim Dae-jung's son and people who have been his confidants since his opposition days, it is evident that this party is an undemocratic group based on an outdated mode of political behavior, i.e. placing loyalty to the boss above all else. When rumors are flying around town regarding individuals who are suspected to have been involved in an illegalloan scandal, is it not natural that the parliamentary inspection scrutinizes them? If the names are veiled behind initials like the three "Ks," will it not sully the honor of those being implicated as well as the name of the party all the more?

Besides, when we look at some of the statements made during the ruling party's general meeting of lawmakers, at which these decisions were made, we become even more incredulous. A representative holding an important party position did not hesitate to make a defamatory statement － along the lines of "Lee so and so planned this" － bringing up the name of the opposition party's president without using his formal title and without even using an honorific after his name.

Furthermore, Representative Lee Won-sung, a former prosecutor, said, "I believe the political scene needs to be cleaned up, even if we have to resort to using the prosecution." We cannot help have doubts about the integrity of a party that allows its representatives to make such statements.

In particular, Representative Lee asserted that if political circles cannot reform themselves, they should be forced to reform through the use of external powers. What kind of a party is this, if all the other lawmakers could sit passively at the meeting, listening to such remarks