Leaders of the opposition Democratic Party kneel in front of the main chamber of the National Assembly yesterday to apologize to the public for being unable to block the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. [NEWSIS]

The ruling party’s ramming through of the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement has paralyzed the legislature as opposition parties walked away from all legislative activities yesterday and vowed to lead protests in the streets.

The long-stalled trade pact was ratified Tuesday after the Grand National Party blindsided liberal opposition lawmakers with a surprise floor vote in a chaotic session complete with a tear gas attack in the main chamber.

To protest the GNP’s successful gambit, the Democratic and Democratic Labor parties announced that they would boycott all legislative sessions. The move immediately stopped a scheduled review of next year’s budget, putting an earlier bipartisan promise to pass the fiscal plan by Dec. 2 in jeopardy.

Deliberations of other bills pending at committees were also canceled. Seven standing committees were to have sessions yesterday, but the main opposition Democrats boycotted all of them.

It will also take more time to confirm two new Supreme Court justices. The appointments were to be confirmed on Tuesday.

The Grand National Party said it will wait until the end of this week to try to persuade the opposition lawmakers to return to work and refrain from holding sessions unilaterally by using its majority. “Starting next week, we will have to resume budget deliberations,” said Representative Lee Myong-gyu, deputy floor leader of the GNP. “The DP cannot forever boycott them.”

For now, the Democratic Party showed no signs of a willingness to cooperate with the ruling party. Shortly after Tuesday’s ratification, the DP held a five-hour lawmakers’ caucus and decided to challenge the legitimacy of the ratification by filing a petition to the Constitutional Court, Kim Yoo-jung, the DP spokeswoman, said yesterday.

“To remove toxic clauses such as the investor-state dispute settlement provision, we will begin legal, political and spiritual battles to void the FTA ratification,” Kim said.

	About a hundred farmers and labor union members protest the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement in front of the city chapter office of the Grand National Party in Daegu. [NEWSIS]

About 50 lawmakers staged an overnight sit-in inside the main chamber of the legislature. The DP also held another gathering in the main lobby of the National Assembly building to protest the ratification.

In a leadership meeting yesterday morning, DP Representative Kim Jin-pyo, the party’s floor leader, said the Lee Myung-bak administration and the ruling party are to be blamed for the legislative paralysis.

“Lee must apologize for pulling the strings from behind,” Kim said. “National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae, Vice Speaker Chung Ui-hwa, GNP Chairman Hong Joon-yo and floor leader Hwang Woo-yea must step down from their posts.”

Eighteen leaders of the liberal opposition parties and heads of progressive civic groups and the labor community gathered yesterday to discuss their next move.

“Yesterday will be recorded as the death of this nation’s democracy,” DP Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu said. “The five liberal opposition parties and the civic community vow to void the ratification. If it is not voided, the DP will try to achieve the goal by winning the legislative and presidential elections next year to have a renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. FTA.”

Sohn also said the DP will form a special committee to carry out systematic anti-FTA campaigns. Representative Chung Dong-young, who has led the DP’s fight against the FTA (after reversing his support for it when he served as the Roh Moo-hyun administration’s key foreign policy maker), will head the committee.

DLP Chairwoman Lee Jung-hee tearfully condemned the ratification. “I apologize to the people for having failed to block it,” she said. “Let’s reject all legislative schedules and go out into the streets to fight.”

She also said the liberals and progressives should initiate campaigns against the ruling GNP and the Lee administration, and others agreed.

“We have warned repeatedly that the consequences would be death,” said Lee Kwang-suk, head of the Korean Peasants League. “The nation’s 3.5 million farmers will rise to change the situation.”

Kim Young-hoon, head of the militant umbrella union Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said members of the union will try to force President Lee out of office. “There will be no way to reverse it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the GNP yesterday started damage control to protect its lawmakers from a backlash from the ratification. Kim Gi-hyeon, the GNP spokesman, said yesterday in a radio interview that the GNP did not use any physical force in the main chamber during the ratification. “None of the GNP lawmakers took part in the violence,” Kim said. Twenty-two Grand National lawmakers have taken public vows not to run for re-election next April if they ended up being involved in physical violence in the legislature.

The Blue House also tried to smooth ruffled feathers. “The government must thoroughly follow up on all the issues raised during the lawmakers’ discussions,” President Lee said yesterday morning at a ministerial meeting on the FTA. “It took four years and seven months for the ratification, but I think the period was an opportunity for the government to follow up on its shortcomings.”

He also stressed the importance of measures to protect the farmers and small businesses, urging the government to provide support to improve their competitiveness rather than just paying compensation.

Lee will sign the Korea-U.S. FTA into law at a cabinet meeting next Tuesday.


By Ser Myo-ja [myoja@joongang.co.kr]


한글 관련 기사 [중앙일보]

예결위 열자마자 정회 … 국회 올스톱


민주당이 23일 대(對)여 ‘전면전’을 선언했다. 한·미 자유무역협정(FTA) 비준 무효화 투쟁에 나서기로 한 것이다. 내년도 예산안 심의 등 국회 일정의 전면 중단도 재확인했다. 야권 공조체제도 재가동키로 했다.

　민주당 손학규 대표는 이날 국회 본회의장 앞에서 소속 의원 50여 명과 규탄대회를 열고 “ (강행처리는) 이명박 한나라당 정권의 의회 쿠데타”라며 “한·미 FTA 비준 전면 무효화 투쟁에 들어간다”고 했다. 정동영 최고위원은 “정신적으로 FTA가 통과됐다고 생각할 하등의 이유가 없다”며 “법률적·정치적·정신적으로 무효”라고 주장했다. 손 대표와 의원들은 FTA 비준을 막지 못한 데 대한 ‘사죄’의 뜻으로 취재진 앞에서 무릎을 꿇기도 했다.

　민주당은 대여 압박 효과를 극대화하기 위해 타깃을 분명히 하고 있다. 김진표 원내대표는 “박희태 국회의장과 정의화 부의장, 한나라당 홍준표 대표, 황우여 원내대표는 즉각 사퇴하라”고 요구했다. 또 26일엔 여의도 한나라당 당사 앞에서 민주노동당 등 다른 야당 등과 함께 대규모 집회를 하는 방안을 검토 중이다. 헌법재판소에 비준 위헌 소송을 내는 법정 투쟁도 병행키로 했다.

　국회 본회의장에서 1박2일간 계속됐던 민주당 의원총회에선 당초 ‘지도부 총사퇴’ ‘소속 의원 전원 사퇴’ 등 대응방안이 논의됐다. 하지만 “극단적인 방법은 피하자”는 여론이 우세해지면서 다소 수위가 조정됐다고 한다. 고려해야 할 점들이 한두 가지가 아니기 때문이다. 여야 의원들은 내년도 예산안에 지역구 예산을 충분히 반영해 처리한 뒤 고향에 돌아갈 날을 손꼽아 기다리고 있었다. 내년 총선 준비를 위해서다.

　하지만 민주당의 국회 보이콧으로 일정이 차질을 빚게 됐다. 이날 오전 열린 예결위 계수조정소위는 야당 측의 불참으로 열자마자 곧바로 정회됐다. 기획재정위 등 6개 상임위원회 회의도 열지 못했다. 겨우 문을 연 행정안전위원회 회의는 민주당 의원들의 불참으로 ‘반쪽’으로 진행됐다.

　한나라당은 일단 민주당에 유화책을 쓰는 모습이다. 홍준표 대표는 기자간담회를 하고 “민주당이 요구한 FTA 후속대책은 100% 시행하겠다. 추가 대책에 대해 대통령도 고민 중”이라며 “곧 청와대 발표가 있을 것”이라고 했다. 또 예산안에 대해서도 “여야가 합의처리할 때까지 기다리겠다”고 말했다. 야당의 체면을 세워줌으로써 국회 복귀의 명분을 주겠다는 의도다.

　민주당 내에서도 반FTA 투쟁을 ‘총선용 장기과제’로 돌리자는 기류가 나오고 있다. 손 대표가 “투쟁을 통해 재협상이 관철되지 않으면 내년 총선 승리를 통해서라도 실현하겠다”고 한 건 이를 염두에 둔 발언이라는 것이다. 당장 얻을 것 없는 투쟁보다 총선 승리를 위한 지렛대로 활용하는 게 더 낫다는 판단이다.