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The National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul saw commotion on Tuesday due to hunger sit-ins staged by three ruling-camp lawmakers. Rep. Chun Jung-bae, who bolted from the Uri Party, had set up a tent for his fast to the left of the main entrance on the second floor of the main hall, and Rep. Im Jong-in, another Uri Party defector, did the same on the right. Former Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae started his hunger sit-in on Tuesday in front of the main chamber. They are all protesting against the proposed Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.
The scenes of the hunger sit-ins were crowded not only with reporters but also a string of lawmakers and other members of the ruling camp and the Democratic Labor Party. Ex-Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young visited Reps. Kim Geun-tae and Chun Jung-bae. Kim told Chung, who was scheduled to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex on Wednesday, "Let's become the anchors, you in Kaesong and I here." The remark sounded like a pledge to find a way of pulling the ruling camp out of dismal popularity ratings through opposition to the FTA and a peace offensive.
Chung Dong-young, Kim Geun-tae and Chun Jung-bae all served as Cabinet members in the Roh Moo-hyun administration, played key roles in the formation of the Uri Party and are presidential contenders. They are the real power in the ruling camp and have a direct line to President Roh Moo-hyun and the administration. Until recently, they seemed ambiguous about the FTA; their U-turn has been rather abrupt.
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Rep. Chun Jung-bae, who has been on hunger strike against the proposed Korea-U.S. FTA at the National Assembly since Monday, gets a medical check-up on Tuesday.
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¡ß Criticism
Rep. Jung Jang-sun on Tuesday told a policy coordination meeting, "Does it really do any good if politicians shave their heads and go on a fast?" Rep. Yun Ho-jung said it was inappropriate for lawmakers to act this way when they expressed no objections in Cabinet meetings when the FTA negotiations started. A Uri lawmaker from a capital-region constituency suggested the three are on hunger strike to ¡°make their existence known¡± because their approval ratings as presidential hopeful are stagnating. Grand National Party spokeswoman Na Kyung-won also said the sit-ins were ¡°a political show oriented to the presidential election and only calculated to win votes."
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Former Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae, who started a hunger sit-in in front of the main chamber of the National Assembly Hall on Tuesday, answers reporters' questions.
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¡ß Disproportionate means
Kim Geun-tae noted that some people feel it is wrong for a former ruling party chairman to go on hunger strike, but added, ¡°This is the only means I have." In the past, hunger strikes acquired a strong context as a last resort in protest against military governments. Opposition leaders went on hunger strike under the banners of democratization and human rights at a time when public information was tightly controlled.
But they continue, despite democratization and a free opinion market. Hence criticism of the latest sit-ins as "political shows" and ¡°obsolete¡± ? and hence their failure to rouse public sympathy as they did in the past. "The hunger sit-ins against the FTA are an attempt to reverse their support ratings by consolidating their core support bases," one expert said. Since the current Uri Party leadership, including chairman Chung Sye-kyun, and the pro-Roh camp have come out in support of the FTA, some experts say, the ruling camp may face another ¡°big bang¡± over support or opposition to the FTA.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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