Rival parties continue marathon talks in attempt to normalize parliament
- 6 years ago
Marathon negotiations are underway at Parliament in hopes of reaching an agreement to end a standstill that's gone on for over a month.
Rival parties are scrambling to reach some sort of a compromise namely on the online opinion-rigging scandal, and a proposed extra budget.
Let's go straight to our National Assembly correspondent Kim Min-ji standing by on the line.
Min-ji, how are things looking?
Daniel... talks have been underway since this morning between the floor leaders of the country's four negotiating parties.
But bearing no fruit,... the baton has been tossed back and forth between themselves and their deputy whips throughout the day.
The National Assembly Speaker had given rival parties until this afternoon to strike a deal to normalize parliament -- that's been at a standstill for over a month... triggered by a dispute over pending bills and amending the Constitution.
The Speaker had set the deadline because he leaves for an overseas trip tomorrow... and both his term and the term of the ruling party's floor leader come to an end this month.
On top of that, parliament also needs to process the resignations of lawmakers planning to run for local elections in June.
Currently, the biggest area of contention is whether the ruling Democratic Party of Korea will accept a bill aimed at launching an independent counsel probe into an online opinion-rigging scandal... allegedly involving one of its lawmakers.
A blogger -- with the username "Druking" -- is known to have used a computer program to manipulate the number of "likes" for comments critical of the Moon Jae-in administration.
There are also suspicions that the blogger may have been engaged in rigging activities in the run up to last year's presidential elections.
Rival parties have said they have managed to narrow their differences to some extent over when to hold on vote and on what conditions... but more negotiations are required.
The floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, meanwhile, is continuing with his hunger strike over the manipulation scandal... while the centrist Bareun Mirae Party is also holding an all-night demonstration in front of the Assembly.
So how far have they gotten to finding the middle point at this moment?
Well, opposition parties initially demanded that the ruling party accept the probe no strings attached...
but now are willing to vote on both the bill to launch a special probe, the extra budget bill... as well as process the resignations of lawmakers running for the local elections -- all of this on May 14th, which is next Monday.
Monday is the deadline for the resignations to be handled -- so that by-elections can be held in vacant districts alongside local elections in June.
But the ruling party has a different timeline in mind.
It said that it would accept the probe... on the condition that opposition parties simultaneously vote on the government's extra budget bill on May 24th.
Now eyes will be on what choice the rul
Rival parties are scrambling to reach some sort of a compromise namely on the online opinion-rigging scandal, and a proposed extra budget.
Let's go straight to our National Assembly correspondent Kim Min-ji standing by on the line.
Min-ji, how are things looking?
Daniel... talks have been underway since this morning between the floor leaders of the country's four negotiating parties.
But bearing no fruit,... the baton has been tossed back and forth between themselves and their deputy whips throughout the day.
The National Assembly Speaker had given rival parties until this afternoon to strike a deal to normalize parliament -- that's been at a standstill for over a month... triggered by a dispute over pending bills and amending the Constitution.
The Speaker had set the deadline because he leaves for an overseas trip tomorrow... and both his term and the term of the ruling party's floor leader come to an end this month.
On top of that, parliament also needs to process the resignations of lawmakers planning to run for local elections in June.
Currently, the biggest area of contention is whether the ruling Democratic Party of Korea will accept a bill aimed at launching an independent counsel probe into an online opinion-rigging scandal... allegedly involving one of its lawmakers.
A blogger -- with the username "Druking" -- is known to have used a computer program to manipulate the number of "likes" for comments critical of the Moon Jae-in administration.
There are also suspicions that the blogger may have been engaged in rigging activities in the run up to last year's presidential elections.
Rival parties have said they have managed to narrow their differences to some extent over when to hold on vote and on what conditions... but more negotiations are required.
The floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, meanwhile, is continuing with his hunger strike over the manipulation scandal... while the centrist Bareun Mirae Party is also holding an all-night demonstration in front of the Assembly.
So how far have they gotten to finding the middle point at this moment?
Well, opposition parties initially demanded that the ruling party accept the probe no strings attached...
but now are willing to vote on both the bill to launch a special probe, the extra budget bill... as well as process the resignations of lawmakers running for the local elections -- all of this on May 14th, which is next Monday.
Monday is the deadline for the resignations to be handled -- so that by-elections can be held in vacant districts alongside local elections in June.
But the ruling party has a different timeline in mind.
It said that it would accept the probe... on the condition that opposition parties simultaneously vote on the government's extra budget bill on May 24th.
Now eyes will be on what choice the rul