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Park to deliver parliamentary speech

Rival parties head for heightened collision over budget, gov’t questioning

President Park Geun-hye is set to deliver her speech on next year’s budget at the National Assembly Monday as rival parties head for heightened collision over the messy controversy surrounding prosecution’s probes, delayed appointment of key posts, and upcoming government interpellation this week.

What is to be Park’s first parliamentary address since her inauguration is likely to sway the atmosphere of the tense Assembly locking horns over the prosecution’s investigation into the former Roh Moo-hyun government’s allegedly intentional deletion of presidential archives.

The main opposition Democratic Party has vowed the contents of Park’s address will set the direction for future operation of the Assembly’s regular session that needs to deal with the 2012 budget settlement and the 2014 budget.

The DP has also demanded a special investigation into the suspected interference of state agencies into last year’s presidential election via negative online campaigning against the opposition contender, and to create a special committee for reform of the National Intelligence Service.

It remains to be seen whether Park, who has avoided directly commenting on both issues, will discuss either demand in her speech. Cheong Wa Dae has remained resolute about not commenting on cases whose investigation by the authorities is still ongoing. It has also been Park’s position that the matter of NIS reform is left to the agency, and that she will stay out of any related political discussion.

Park, instead, is expected to focus on public livelihood and ask for swift passage of the pending economic-related bills and the budget.

The Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts is pushing to complete all the government ministries’ budget settlements by the end of the week.

But observers warn that the ongoing political standoff may further push back the review as far as early next month.

Since the introduction of an early budget settlement system in 2004 that called for complete review of the previous year’s accounts by the end of August, the Assembly has only managed to meet the deadline once, in 2011.

The Assembly is also set to begin its questioning of the government on Tuesday. They will include questioning into diplomatic, North Korea and security-related affairs on Wednesday, followed by economy on Thursday and Friday, and education, social and culture next Monday.

High on the agenda are the opposition’s attack against the NIS, the military and others’ alleged involvement in the presidential election, as well as the ruling Saenuri Party’s counterattack against the alleged electioneering by the progressive Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union and the Korean Government Employees’ Union.

The parties are also expected to butt heads over last week’s investigation results by the prosecution. The prosecution on Friday indicted two former aides of Roh Moo-hyun, concluding that the 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript was erased deliberately from the presidential data system under orders from Roh.

The DP, in its rebuff, demanded resignation of Saenuri Party lawmakers Reps. Chung Moon-hun and Suh Sang-kee, suspected of illegally obtaining the summit transcript for use in the presidential election by alleging Roh made comments in the effect of rescinding the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea challenged by the North.

“As the prosecution investigation showed there were no remarks (by Roh) that annulled the NLL, the Saenuri Party and the ruling camp have committed an unforgivable sin by deceiving the public,” DP spokesman Park Yong-jin said.

Chung Moon-hun is set to appear before the prosecution this week to undergo questioning.

Also tied up by the political wrangling is the nomination of key posts, with the DP refusing to approve the nomination of Welfare Minister-designate Moon Hyung-pyo citing “backtracking” of Park’s welfare pledges.

The DP has indicated that it will agree to the appointment of Board of Audit and Inspection chief-nominee Hwang Chan-hyon if Moon resigns from his nomination.

Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee, a former member of the Saenuri Party, has said he will exert his authority to present the appointments up for voting if the opposition continues to refuse to comply.

The Saenuri Party lambasted the DP for “obstructing government operation.”

“(The DP’s) position of linking the nomination approval of Moon and Hwang proves it is admitting to engaging in political offensives. It should give the minimal level of cooperation so that the government can work,” said Saenuri spokesman Rep. Yoo Il-ho.   

By Lee Joo-hee
(jhl@heraldcorp.com)