MDP boycotts Assembly after 'partisan' remark

The National Assembly was crippled but was resumed some 11 hours later when the opposition Grand National Party floor leader Rhee Q-taek likened the Millennium Democratic Party to "a group of partisans" -- a reference to pro-Communist guerrillas who fought in South Korea before and during the Korean War. Tuesday's scheduled Assembly hearing on the economy resumed at 8:30 p.m. after MDP and GNP assemblymen struck to return to the Assembly.

"The Millennium Democrats are focused on spreading malicious propaganda against our party's presidential candidate, Lee Hoi-chang," Mr. Rhee said at an MDP-GNP executive meeting. "I received an impression yesterday that the Millennium Democrats operate like a group of partisans."

Mr. Rhee immediately repudiated his remark when he saw his party's chairman, Suh Chung-won, who obviously realized the inappropriateness of the remark, waving his hands to signal him to take back the comment. "I meant the MDP had become factional," he said. He later apologized again to the MDP.

But the governing party did not accept his apology and chose to boycott the hearing. They also demanded an apology from Lee Hoi-chang and called for Mr. Rhee's ouster as floor leader.

Hahn Hwa-kap, the MDP chairman, said: "The Grand National Party is seeking to push us toward anarchy so it can justify taking absolute control. Lee Hoi-chang should never become president."

Mr. Rhee apologized for the trouble he caused.

"It is regrettable that the National Assembly operations were suspended due to my slip," he said. But the MDP demanded an apology from the GNP chairman if its presidential candidate apologized over the mishap.

At the Assembly's questioning, legislators criticized government's concealing the July 2000 garlic negotiaions to open the domestic garlic market to Chinese imports beginning in July 2003.

by Lee Sang-il, Ko Jung-ae