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The deadlock that had paralyzed the National Assembly for 83 days since its launch was finally resolved on Tuesday. In marathon negotiations, the ruling Grand National Party, main opposition Democratic Party, and a negotiating group made up of the minor opposition Liberty Forward and Renewal of Korea parties agreed to revise the Act on the Prevention of Livestock Epidemics, which the DP had set as a condition to forming standing committees.
The revised act would automatically slap a five-year ban on imports of beef from cattle 30 months or older from countries where an outbreak of mad cow disease is reported, while resumption of imports would require National Assembly deliberation. If Japan, Taiwan or other countries hold beef talks with the United States and agree to stricter import standards than Korea, Korea would be required to renegotiate its own beef accord with the U.S. However, Article 2 of a bylaw honors the Korea-U.S. beef accord by requiring Korea to abide by existing import health requirements for U.S. beef and beef products.
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The floor leaders of the Democratic Party, Won Hye-young (left), Grand National Party, Hong Joon-pyo(center) and Liberty Forward Party, Kwon Sun-taik, hold hands after agreeing to form standing committees in a meeting at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
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With the compromise, the National Assembly held a general meeting Tuesday evening, revising the names and jurisdictional range of each standing committee under a new governing structure. One of the changes was to hand over control of the Korea Communications Commission to the parliamentary standing committee on culture, sports, tourism and broadcast communications. The National Assembly also passed several revisions, including an amendment that shortens the term of the intelligence committee members from four years to two.
The ruling and opposition parties extended until the end of August the parliamentary investigation into the resumption of U.S. beef imports, while deciding to hold confirmation hearings for three ministers who have been appointed without them, including the minister of education, science and technology. They agreed to convene the National Assembly whenever the need arises, form subcommittees under each standing committee, and launch 10 special committees including one to protect Dokdo¡¯s sovereignty and another to boost the competitiveness of small and mid-sized businesses.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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