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C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003029 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2011 
TAGS: PGOV KS
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA: HIGHLIGHTS 
 
REF: SEOUL 2917 
 
Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (C) As the National Assembly convenes its 262nd session, 
beginning September 1 and lasting a hundred days, politicians 
and pundits alike anticipate a series of political battles as 
the ruling and opposition parties struggle to gain the upper 
hand.  Given the stunning defeat for the ruling Uri party in 
the May 31 local elections and a continuing downward spiral 
of public opinion toward President Roh Moo-hyun, the 
opposition Grand National Party (GNP) smelling blood, is 
geared up to further discredit the Uri Party.  The outcome of 
the political battles in the legislature is especially 
crucial because all are closely monitoring intra-party 
movements for the presidential elections, to be held December 
¶2007.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SCHEDULE 
-------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On September 8, the confirmation of presidential 
appointees begins and the seventeen standing committees 
convene to discuss and vote on issues under their respective 
jurisdictions.  The most important task for the Assembly, the 
audit and inspection of the past year's administrative 
activities and budget, is slated to begin on October 11, 
which is immediately after the nation's biggest holiday, 
Chuseok, or Thanksgiving.  The inspection period will 
continue throughout the month of October.  On November 1, the 
Roh government will give an administrative policy speech 
concerning the 2007 draft budget, followed by speeches from 
the chairmen of the negotiating committees in the next few 
days. The session will conclude December 9. 
 
 
NATIONAL BUDGET 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) The ruling party had initially proposed conducting 
the audit of the past year's activities before the October 
holiday season, but gave in to the GNP and minor opposition 
parties' demand that it be held after the holidays.  The 
delay is a victory for the GNP which essentially bought more 
time to harass the ruling party on other contentious issues 
such as the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) 
and the "Sea Story" gambling scandal.  (See Ref.)  First-term 
GNP lawmaker Jin Young told poloffs on August 22 that the 
gambling scandal is likely to be an issue during the audit 
process.  Although President Roh apologized to the Korean 
public about the scandal on August 31, the ongoing criminal 
investigation into the involvement of lobbyists, businessmen, 
and politicians, indicates that the issue will not fade from 
the political scene in the near future. 
 
¶4.  (C) According to Park Sung-min, Director of Min 
Consulting, a bipartisan political consulting firm, the 
traditional order of the agenda has been 1) the audit of 
state administration, 2) deliberation on legislation, 3) 
budget for the upcoming year.  Thus, the delay of the audit 
raises the question of what will be done during September. 
The opposition has suggested tackling legislation earlier 
rather than later, but Park speculates that the ruling party 
will try to delay deliberating on legislative bills to avoid 
gridlock. 
 
CONFIRMATION OF PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The National Assembly has the constitutional mandate 
to remove a cabinet member from office at any time and to 
confirm appointees, albeit in a pro-forma way.  In theory, 
the Assembly must open a confirmation hearing within twenty 
days of receiving the request for confirmation.  On August 
16, President Roh nominated Chon Hyo-suk to head the 
Constitutional Court, a nomination that triggered strong 
protests from the conservative camp.  Chon has been 
criticized for her unwavering support for Roh during the 2004 
impeachment and for a controversial measure to relocate the 
capital.  Her confirmation will likely be hotly contested. 
If confirmed, Chon will become the first female Chief Justice 
of the nation's highest court.  The President also nominated 
Vice Justice Minister Kim Hee-ok, another progressive and Roh 
supporter, to replace one of the eight justices of the court. 
 
 
 
OLD LAWS, NEW LAWS 
----------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Forty-one laws were passed during the extraordinary 
session held from August 22-29, including a local real estate 
tax cut and a law legalizing the confiscation of property 
belonging to the heirs of Japanese collaborators.  Media 
pundits predict that many of the proposed bills not 
deliberated upon during the extraordinary session will be 
carried over into the regular session. 
 
¶7.  (C) The ever-controversial private school law, enacted in 
1963 and revised more than 30 times, may be brought before 
the Assembly to be revised yet again.  Uri lawmaker and 
Defense Committee member, Yoo Jay-kun told Donga Ilbo on 
August 31, "There is a movement within the party to reform 
the private school law aimed at targeting corruption."  Yoo 
further stated that the issue at hand was whether the Uri 
would have to concede on the private school law in order to 
get concessions from the GNP for their support of the public 
welfare bill.  Other controversial laws include regulation of 
campaign finance and ballot counting, a labor-reform law 
targeted at non-regular workers, and a possible law regarding 
the development of Yongsan base once USFK relocates to 
Pyeongtaek.  The Seoul Metropolitan Government, headed by GNP 
Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and the Ministry of Construction and 
Transportation are currently engaged in a tug-of-war over how 
the Yongsan land should be developed and who would finance 
such development. 
 
OPCON DEBATE 
------------ 
 
¶8.  (C) The transfer of wartime operational control is a 
sensitive issue in South Korean society and politics.  GNP 
lawmakers, along with former defense chiefs, have repeatedly 
criticized the planned transfer and have accused President 
Roh of negligence in protecting the nation's security.  The 
Assembly's youngest member and representative from Busan, Kim 
Hee-jung, told poloff on August 25, "for the GNP, the timing 
of the OPCON transfer is most problematic since the 
Peninsula's security situation is at its worst since the July 
5 missile launchings."  However, some pundits interpret the 
GNP's opposition as ill-timed and misdirected especially when 
the U.S. and the ROK have already mutually agreed upon the 
transfer.  Political consultant Park Sung-min told poloffs on 
August 31, "the full complexity of the OPCON issue: the 
political, economic, military, and historic dimensions, have 
yet to be fully understood by members of the public." 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9.  (C) While there are many controversial issues on the 
horizon for this fall, experts claim that intra-party battles 
will grow more heated in 2007 as the next presidential 
election approaches.  Uri and GNP politicians both anticipate 
the completion of the U.S.-ROK Free Trade Agreement 
negotiations and subsequent vote to flare up late this year 
and early 2007.  In the meantime, the Uri Party aims to 
minimize the damage to its image and to prevent further 
scandals from emerging.  The GNP has its sights set on 
boosting its chances of becoming the new ruling party in the 
next Assembly elections in April 2008. END COMMENT. 
STANTON