The national legislative session remains stalled by partisanship. The president and lawmakers are trading accusations of playing politics with matters of national importance. And the main opposition party has been split by factional fighting. The description may sound like Washington D.C., but this scenario is playing out in South Korea. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
A little more than a week ago, tens of thousands of protestors packed the streets of downtown Seoul - calling for President Park Geun-hye to resign.
Police put the number at nearly 70,000 the largest anti-government protest in the country in more than seven years. Local media say more than 140 people were hurt—mostly police. Rallying points ranged from proposed changes to laws on labor, trade, and agriculture to views of history.
The administration wants to revise history textbooks. Critics say that’s likely to airbrush the legacy of the president’s father—former President Park Chung-hee….who seized power in a military coup in 1961 and ruled as a dictator until his assassination in 1979. The textbook issue sparked a brief legislative boycott by opposition lawmakers, while current parliamentary action is stalled on bills from labor reforms to trade and the budget.
The political landscape is not so much split as it is fractured. The ruling party holds 160 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly - the main opposition party holds 130. But the opposition’s political leadership is divided ahead of parliamentary elections next April. And President Park remains a polarizing figure nearly three years into her five-year term. Yonhap News Agency puts her latest approval ratings at 42% while those holding a negative view of her leadership are at a near statistical tie: at 40%.
