Violent lawmakers face small fines
Published: 09 Nov. 2009, 21:27
It was a war without bullets. But there were everything else, ranging from fire extinguishers, electric saws and water cannons during intense melees by lawmakers dealing with contentious bills ranging from the Korea-U.S. FTA bill to media reform laws.
Violent scuffles between opposition lawmakers who were against passing the bills and the ruling Grand Nationals made headlines at home and abroad. On Dec. 18, 2008, the Grand Nationals managed to take the first step to ratify the free trade agreement with the United States by taking control of a foreign affairs and trade committee conference room in National Assembly and locking the doors.
It was like a brigade charging a hill during war.
The Democratic Party and the Democratic Labor Party members did not take matters lying down. They broke out hammers, electric saws and water cannons to try to break inside.
But the Grand Nationals had fortified their position, using sofas and desks to barricade any openings and themselves using fire extinguishers to repel the invaders. After a series of ensuing skirmishes in the National Assembly throughout end of last year and this year, prosecutors indicted people in June. Prosecutors said lawmakers would face severe punishment for engaging in fighting at the Assembly.
But the vast majority of lawmakers indicted were handed fines and only a handful of secretariats and party officials received jail sentences.
Unlike Korea’s election law that invalidates a lawmaker’s assembly seats when he is convicted of receiving either a fine of more than 1 million won ($863) or a jail term, lawmakers convicted of criminal charges lose their seats only when they receive jail terms. Some people thought prosecutors went light on the lawmakers.
For instance, when the spray settled at the Dec. 18 incident, the governing party asked the prosecutors to investigate two opposition party lawmakers - DP’s Moon Hak-jin and DLP’s Lee Jung-hee - for using force to interrupt the meeting.
Moon was indicted for using a sledgehammer in his failed attempt to break in. On Nov. 4, a local court slapped Moon with a 3 million won fine. They sought a 1 million won fine against Lee for allegedly destroying lawmaker nameplates. A prosecutor who spoke on condition of anonymity explained DP’s Moon was fined because there was no concrete evidence that he destroyed the door leading to the committee room. “After examining video and other evidence we could only prove that he had destroyed a door leading to secretariat room of foreign affairs and trade committee,” the prosecutor said. “DLP’s Lee was also sentenced lightly taking into account the degree of damage caused by her wasn’t that serious.”
National Assembly Secretary General Park Kye-dong said he was deeply disappointed by the court’s decision. “The recent series of skirmishes at National Assembly brought international shame and it greatly disappointed the public that law-enforcement authorities made a decision that falls short of what the public wanted. The public wanted to end violence in the national assembly,” Park said.
Lee Hyeon-Woo, a political science professor at Sogang University, said the assembly needs to devise measures to prevent future fights. “National Assembly’s ethics committee didn’t hand down a single disciplinary punishment to lawmakers involved in violent melees at the Assembly,” Lee said. “Lawmakers need to revise laws governing the National Assembly.”
By Jung Hyo-sik, Lee Jeong-bong [[email protected]]
Violent scuffles between opposition lawmakers who were against passing the bills and the ruling Grand Nationals made headlines at home and abroad. On Dec. 18, 2008, the Grand Nationals managed to take the first step to ratify the free trade agreement with the United States by taking control of a foreign affairs and trade committee conference room in National Assembly and locking the doors.
It was like a brigade charging a hill during war.
The Democratic Party and the Democratic Labor Party members did not take matters lying down. They broke out hammers, electric saws and water cannons to try to break inside.
But the Grand Nationals had fortified their position, using sofas and desks to barricade any openings and themselves using fire extinguishers to repel the invaders. After a series of ensuing skirmishes in the National Assembly throughout end of last year and this year, prosecutors indicted people in June. Prosecutors said lawmakers would face severe punishment for engaging in fighting at the Assembly.
But the vast majority of lawmakers indicted were handed fines and only a handful of secretariats and party officials received jail sentences.
Unlike Korea’s election law that invalidates a lawmaker’s assembly seats when he is convicted of receiving either a fine of more than 1 million won ($863) or a jail term, lawmakers convicted of criminal charges lose their seats only when they receive jail terms. Some people thought prosecutors went light on the lawmakers.
For instance, when the spray settled at the Dec. 18 incident, the governing party asked the prosecutors to investigate two opposition party lawmakers - DP’s Moon Hak-jin and DLP’s Lee Jung-hee - for using force to interrupt the meeting.
Moon was indicted for using a sledgehammer in his failed attempt to break in. On Nov. 4, a local court slapped Moon with a 3 million won fine. They sought a 1 million won fine against Lee for allegedly destroying lawmaker nameplates. A prosecutor who spoke on condition of anonymity explained DP’s Moon was fined because there was no concrete evidence that he destroyed the door leading to the committee room. “After examining video and other evidence we could only prove that he had destroyed a door leading to secretariat room of foreign affairs and trade committee,” the prosecutor said. “DLP’s Lee was also sentenced lightly taking into account the degree of damage caused by her wasn’t that serious.”
National Assembly Secretary General Park Kye-dong said he was deeply disappointed by the court’s decision. “The recent series of skirmishes at National Assembly brought international shame and it greatly disappointed the public that law-enforcement authorities made a decision that falls short of what the public wanted. The public wanted to end violence in the national assembly,” Park said.
Lee Hyeon-Woo, a political science professor at Sogang University, said the assembly needs to devise measures to prevent future fights. “National Assembly’s ethics committee didn’t hand down a single disciplinary punishment to lawmakers involved in violent melees at the Assembly,” Lee said. “Lawmakers need to revise laws governing the National Assembly.”
By Jung Hyo-sik, Lee Jeong-bong [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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