VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #1120/01 1550729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030729Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0269
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4371
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 8764
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 4508
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2717
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA
RUACAAA/COMUSKOREA INTEL SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP//

UNCLAS SEOUL 001120 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KN KS
SUBJECT: ROK'S 17TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WINDS DOWN: A ROUNDUP 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The 17th National Assembly, which 
officially ended, was characterized by the prominent role of 
386er representatives (those born in the 60s that led the 
democratization movement in the 80s), its left-leaning 
ideology, the increased number of women, and intense partisan 
politics.  More than 7,000 bills were introduced during the 
17th National Assembly, three times the number of bills 
introduced during the 16th National Assembly, but the low 
passage rate of legislator-introduced bills of 21.2 percent 
(26.8 percent in 16th) raised concerns about the efficiency 
and quality of legislative activities.  END SUMMARY 
 
----------------- 
PARTY COMPOSITION 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The 17th National Assembly was elected in 2004 with 
the Uri Party -- the progressive ruling party at the time -- 
gaining 152 seats out of the total 299, as a result of public 
anger at the opposition parties for their efforts to attempt 
to impeach President Roh.  The Grand National Party, the 
Democratic Labor Party, the Democratic Party, the Liberty 
Democratic Alliance Party, the United Citizen 21 Party, and 
independents gained 121, 10, 9, 4, 1, and 2 seats, 
respectively.  The 17th NA was the first assembly to grant 
the liberal democrats a majority since the current 
constitutions was adopted 1987.  The progressive Democratic 
Labor Party won its first seats in Parliament. 
 
----------------------------------- 
FEATURES OF 17th NA REPRESENTATIVES 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The 17th National Assembly was the main stage for 
the emergence of young representatives from the "386 
generation" who were characterized by their left-leaning 
ideologies and participation in the democratization movement 
in the late 1980s.  62.5 percent of legislators were 
first-term members who proved their passions by introducing a 
total of 4,199 bills, more than triple the 1,343 bills 
proposed by experienced legislators.  However, the passage 
rates were almost equal with eleven to twelve percent, and 
the "newer" assembly was ultimately unable to fulfill hopes 
the new blood would clean up politics.  Also, more 
representatives were from professional backgrounds and 
participated in research activities, signaling hopes for an 
increasingly intelligent legislature.  However, televised 
footage of physical violence among legislators, reports of 
corruption and sex scandals contributed to the public's 
disillusionment of politics. 
 
---------------------- 
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Uri Party-led initiative to pass the four major 
reform bills, i.e., abolishment of the National Security Law, 
Media Relation Reform Law, Private School Revision Law, and 
Truth and Reconciliation Law, failed to pass the National 
Assembly because of GNP opposition. Nevertheless, the 17th NA 
introduced an abundance of new bills (7,489), triple the 
number of bills proposed in the 16th National Assembly. 
However, Professor Park Hyo Jong of Seoul National University 
criticized that the bills introduced by the representatives 
lagged behind in professionalism compared to 
government-proposed laws, and that representatives worked 
hard to introduce bills to raise their number of proposals 
but failed to actually pass them, leading to debate on the 
efficiency and quality of legislative activities.  In fact, 
only 1,351 bills (21 percent) out of the total 6,387 bills 
introduced by representatives passed the National Assembly, 
compared to the 563 governmental bills (51 percent) out of 
the 1,102 bills that were proposed by the government. 
 
-------------------- 
INTENSE PARTISANSHIP 
-------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Beginning with the introduction of the four major 
reform bills, heated partisanship undermined the workings of 
the 17th NA.  Partisan divisions were intensified with 
representatives' tendencies to conform to party positions and 
ideological debates, and often led to protracted debates on 
policy issues.  The final sessions were tainted by 
inconclusive partisan fighting over the citizen pension law, 
private school law, law school law, the reopening of the 
Korean market to US beef, and the KORUS FTA.  In addition, 
the breakdown and mergers between the Uri-Party, the 
Democratic Party, and the United Democratic Party brought 
criticisms that compared legislators to migratory birds.  The 
public perceived the parliament to be more occupied with 
political infighting than the public interest. 
 
--------------- 
CALL FOR CHANGE 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) As the 17th NA concluded in public disappointment, 
specialists advised ways to improve the workings of the next 
assembly.  Candidate for the 18th NA Speaker Ahn Sang Soo 
(GNP) suggested the establishment of an institution to 
provide incentives for policy research, support the passage 
of bills, monitor national administration, and check budget 
developments.  Soong Sil University Professor Kang Kyung Geun 
promoted greater power and authority for committees would 
help resolve the lack of professionalism and low efficiency 
shown by the low bill passage rate.  Kyung Hee University 
Professor Kim Min Jeon advised assemblymen to restrain from 
blind party loyalty, and urged the ruling party to check 
rather than yield to the Blue House.  Seoul National 
University Professor Park Hyo Jong stressed that the National 
Assembly must shift from sensational corruption disclosures 
and political disputes to policy issues.  Outgoing Speaker of 
the House Im Chae Jung said that the public will demand 
satisfactory progress on important issues such as U.S. beef 
imports, the KORUS FTA, the socioeconomic gap, and rising 
inflation, which the 17th NA failed to address adequately let 
alone resolve. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Corresponding to the overall democratic 
developments, South Koreans are now demanding more from their 
legislators: more transparency, more professionalism, and 
above all, more effectiveness in addressing their real 
economic and social concerns.  To be fair, over the past two 
decades, the South Korean legislative has emerged as a 
powerful institution capable of its proper check and balance 
role.  However, it is also true that the National Assembly is 
still characterized by severe ideological polarization and 
crippling factionalism, as shown by the poor performance of 
the 17th National Assembly is passing key bills.  Changing 
old habits takes time, but Korean legislators are changing, 
even if much too slowly for most Koreans. 
VERSHBOW