Rival parties should move toward bipartisanship
Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties have come under severe criticism for turning the National Assembly's audit and inspection of the government and related agencies into a venue for political wrangling. It is wrong for them to put narrow-minded partisanship before national interests in the face of looming economic woes and rising military threats from North Korea.
Much to the disappointment of the public, the rival parties are engrossed in finding fault with each other, instead of working together to promote the principle of democratic checks and balances. They are apparently turning their backs on the Assembly's mission of holding the executive branch in check.
The annual parliamentary audit and inspection began Oct. 4 amid a deepening political feud between the governing People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) over a set of contentious issues. The parties already clashed over what DPK lawmakers called a "diplomatic failure" by President Yoon Suk-yeol who went on a weeklong visit to Britain, the U.S. and Canada last month.
Opposition lawmakers lambasted Yoon for failing to pay his respects to the late British Queen Elizabeth II while she was lying in state. They also criticized him for not having a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden when they attended the U.N. General Assembly session. In addition, they accused him of keeping a low profile when he visited Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida only to have 30-minute "informal talks" rather than a formal summit.
The inspection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fell apart as DPK representatives rammed through a motion to dismiss Foreign Minister Park Jin over Yoon's alleged use of foul language after an encounter with Biden. The political deadlock deepened as Yoon vetoed the motion. Against this backdrop, the audit and inspection got off to a bad start. Thus, the rival parties could not afford to discuss how to cope with many diplomatic challenges such as the U.S. legislation of the Inflation Reduction Act which is aimed at excluding Korean-made electric vehicles from tax subsidies.
Another partisan clash erupted when the state Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) sent a written questionnaire to former President Moon Jae-in to probe allegations that he mishandled a case of a fisheries official killed by North Korean soldiers in September 2020 while drifting in the West Sea. DPK legislators went all out to defend Moon, while their PPP counterparts attacked the previous administration for having attempted to falsely conclude that the ill-fated official was shot to death while trying to defect to the North. It is lamentable for lawmakers to engage in a dog-eat-dog partisan confrontation without making a joint effort to reveal the truth behind the tragic case.
Adding insult to injury, DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung branded a trilateral naval exercise between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as a "pro-Japanese defense" drill. It is nonsense to arouse anti-Japanese sentiment over the drill which was held in international waters of the East Sea early this month to detect North Korean submarines in reaction to the North's continued launch of its missiles, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
We urge the PPP and the DPK to stop their wasteful partisan fighting. Lawmakers of both parties should make a joint effort to find out ways to deal with the ever-mounting saber rattling and nuclear blackmail by the Kim Jong-un regime. They may clash over certain issues often. But the DPK should refrain from opposing for the sake of opposition. The PPP, for its part, needs to do all it can to embrace the opposition party to form bipartisanship to protect our national interests, ensure security, avert a brewing economic crisis, and improve people's livelihoods.
Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties have come under severe criticism for turning the National Assembly's audit and inspection of the government and related agencies into a venue for political wrangling. It is wrong for them to put narrow-minded partisanship before national interests in the face of looming economic woes and rising military threats from North Korea.
Much to the disappointment of the public, the rival parties are engrossed in finding fault with each other, instead of working together to promote the principle of democratic checks and balances. They are apparently turning their backs on the Assembly's mission of holding the executive branch in check.
The annual parliamentary audit and inspection began Oct. 4 amid a deepening political feud between the governing People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) over a set of contentious issues. The parties already clashed over what DPK lawmakers called a "diplomatic failure" by President Yoon Suk-yeol who went on a weeklong visit to Britain, the U.S. and Canada last month.
Opposition lawmakers lambasted Yoon for failing to pay his respects to the late British Queen Elizabeth II while she was lying in state. They also criticized him for not having a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden when they attended the U.N. General Assembly session. In addition, they accused him of keeping a low profile when he visited Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida only to have 30-minute "informal talks" rather than a formal summit.
The inspection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fell apart as DPK representatives rammed through a motion to dismiss Foreign Minister Park Jin over Yoon's alleged use of foul language after an encounter with Biden. The political deadlock deepened as Yoon vetoed the motion. Against this backdrop, the audit and inspection got off to a bad start. Thus, the rival parties could not afford to discuss how to cope with many diplomatic challenges such as the U.S. legislation of the Inflation Reduction Act which is aimed at excluding Korean-made electric vehicles from tax subsidies.
Another partisan clash erupted when the state Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) sent a written questionnaire to former President Moon Jae-in to probe allegations that he mishandled a case of a fisheries official killed by North Korean soldiers in September 2020 while drifting in the West Sea. DPK legislators went all out to defend Moon, while their PPP counterparts attacked the previous administration for having attempted to falsely conclude that the ill-fated official was shot to death while trying to defect to the North. It is lamentable for lawmakers to engage in a dog-eat-dog partisan confrontation without making a joint effort to reveal the truth behind the tragic case.
Adding insult to injury, DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung branded a trilateral naval exercise between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as a "pro-Japanese defense" drill. It is nonsense to arouse anti-Japanese sentiment over the drill which was held in international waters of the East Sea early this month to detect North Korean submarines in reaction to the North's continued launch of its missiles, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
We urge the PPP and the DPK to stop their wasteful partisan fighting. Lawmakers of both parties should make a joint effort to find out ways to deal with the ever-mounting saber rattling and nuclear blackmail by the Kim Jong-un regime. They may clash over certain issues often. But the DPK should refrain from opposing for the sake of opposition. The PPP, for its part, needs to do all it can to embrace the opposition party to form bipartisanship to protect our national interests, ensure security, avert a brewing economic crisis, and improve people's livelihoods.
![[PHOTOS] Turkey-Syria earthquake](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/TURKEY_EARTHQUAKE_001_7ee1545749a45.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] 'Growth slowdown can accelerate depletion of retirement pension fund'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/1b8c230b7aa14896bf5b639acd01a9ee.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Veteran US photographer gives environment 'visual voice' to chronicle climate change](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/9d491d25431d4e9b980fee78427589dc.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[PHOTOS] Turkey-Syria earthquake](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/TURKEY_EARTHQUAKE_001_7ee1545749a45.jpg/dims/resize/262/optimize)
