SEOUL: South Korea\u2019s acting leader said Thursday he would veto a spate of contentious bills sponsored by the main opposition party, deepening political strife in the wake of parliament\u2019s impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
\nThe ruling and opposition parties have been bickering over how much authority Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country\u2019s No. 2 official, has assumed since the opposition-controlled National Assembly last Saturday voted to suspend Yoon\u2019s presidential powers over his short-lived Dec. 3 martial law. The Constitutional Court is to determine whether to formally dismiss the conservative Yoon as president or reinstate him.
\nLaw enforcement authorities are also separately investigating whether Yoon\u2019s martial law enforcement amounted to rebellion. Yoon\u2019s defense minister, police chief and several other military commanders have already been arrested over the case. The main liberal opposition Democratic Party earlier considered impeaching Han as well for failing to stop Yoon\u2019s martial law declaration, but shelved the idea after he became acting leader.
\nFour of the six bills to be vetoed by Han were meant to introduce greater state financial assistance programs for the country\u2019s agriculture and fisheries industries.
\nThe most contentious bill is the Grain Management Act, which would require the government to buy surplus rice if the price drops too sharply to protect the country\u2019s farming industry and promote its food sovereignty. Han said the bill would cause \u201cimmense\u201d financial burdens on the government and eventually lead to further drops in rice prices.
\nAnother controversial bill is the National Assembly Testimony Appraisal Act, which would give lawmakers more power to request people to attend parliament hearings and submit documents. Under the proposed legislation, individuals could no longer decline such requests by citing the protection of trade secrets or personal information.
\nThe Democratic Party said the bill is necessary to determine the full details of Yoon\u2019s martial law decree. But Han said the bill would likely infringe upon people\u2019s privacy and that there are concerns among business leaders that key technology and company secrets could be leaked.
\n\u201cI\u2019m heavy-hearted because I\u2019ve asked the National Assembly to discuss and act on the six bills again at a time when we desperately need cooperation among the government and the ruling and opposition parties,\u201d Han said in televised comments at the start of a Cabinet Council meeting on Thursday. \u201cBut the government should make a responsible decision that prioritizes the principles of the Constitution and the future of our country.\u201d
\nDemocratic lawmaker and spokesperson Noh Jongmyun quickly criticized Han, warning him \u201cnot to cross a line,\u201d adding, \u201cWe\u2019ll immediately drag him down if he\u2019s found to have collaborated with the rebellion.\u201d
\nObservers earlier speculated the Democratic Party would reconsider impeaching Han if he vetoed the bills.
\nAnother source of contention between the rival parties is whether Han has the right to appoint three vacant justices\u2019 seats at the Constitutional Court, as filling the vacancies could affect the court\u2019s decision on Yoon.
\nThe martial law enactment lasted only six hours, but it caused huge political turmoil in South Korea and set off alarms from its neighbors and diplomatic partners. Yoon sent hundreds of troops to the National Assembly to block its vote on his decree. But many lawmakers managed to enter a parliament hall and unanimously voted it down, forcing Yoon\u2019s Cabinet to lift it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL: South Korea\u2019s acting leader said Thursday he would veto a spate of contentious bills sponsored by the main opposition party, deepening political strife in the wake of parliament\u2019s impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The ruling and opposition parties have been bickering over how much authority Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country\u2019s No. 2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-450369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n