[EDITORIALS]War of words is escalating

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[EDITORIALS]War of words is escalating

On Tuesday, the president will make his decision whether to accept the formation of a special investigation team for the corruption allegations against a group of former presidential aides. The Grand National Party has vowed to fight tooth and nail should President Roh Moo-hyun refuse.
With the economic recession and the rising unemployment, the debate over the dispatch of troops to Iraq, the radical street rallies on various social issues and the prosecution’s investigation of campaign funds, it gives reason to worry over an outright conflict brewing fast in the political sector. As has been emphasized several times before, it is imperative that the president accept the special counsel bill and the will of the National Assembly, which passed the bill with an overwhelming majority. Should the president veto the Assembly’s decision, the Grand National Party’s threat that the Assembly will also reject the president will become a reality. It would also raise suspicions that the president is trying to protect his men.
Nevertheless, the party would not be justified in defying the president. Even though the bill was passed in the National Assembly following all due procedures, it is wrong for the party to oppose the second passage, as it is provided in the Constitution. Some even argue that the party is against passing the bill again because it has lost confidence in itself.
It is also improper of the party to mention the possibility of a motion of impeachment against the president, a group resignation or boycott by its National Assembly members in protest. It is shocking that the party has threatened to ignore its responsibility and paralyze the Assembly. Even the Millennium Democratic Party, which supported the bill, criticized the Grand National Party for its hard-line stance, calling it “anachronistic.”
After Grand National leader Choe Byung-yul made his threat, the Blue House spokesman attacked it, calling it a “collective perversity.” Does the Blue House want to provoke the opposition party into taking a hard-line stance? Both the Blue House and the Grand National Party need to exercise some restraint.
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