[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee (FAUC) saw a fierce clash between the ruling and opposition parties over the submission of the 'Resolution Urging the Declaration of the End of the War.' The ruling party proposed to discuss the resolution through the FAUC's bill subcommittee following the proper procedures after submission, while the opposition insisted that the resolution should be withdrawn and discussed in the agenda adjustment committee.
On the 28th, at the FAUC plenary meeting, Rep. Cho Tae-yong of the People Power Party stated in a parliamentary procedure speech, "Resolutions urging the declaration of the end of the war and allowing individual tourism to North Korea require careful discussion in light of North Korea's atrocities," adding, "Is urging the declaration of the end of the war something the National Assembly should be doing now? It is appropriate to refer these agendas to the agenda adjustment committee for in-depth discussion."
Rep. Cho was referring to two resolutions: the resolution urging the declaration of the end of the Korean War, proposed by Rep. Kim Kyung-hyup of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the resolution urging the allowance of individual tourism to North Korea for peace on the Korean Peninsula, proposed by Rep. Kang Byung-won of the same party. Given the heightened public anger following the Yeonpyeong Island shelling incident, discussing related resolutions in the National Assembly is considered premature.
Rep. Kim Seok-ki, the opposition party's FAUC secretary, also added, "It makes no sense to push for the adoption of these resolutions under the current circumstances," and said, "Although the resolutions have been submitted, they should be withdrawn." Rep. Lee Tae-gyu of the same party said, "Even though our citizens were brutally killed, if the resolution urging the declaration of the end of the war is submitted and passed to the bill subcommittee, what kind of signal would we be sending to North Korea?" He added, "The first thing our National Assembly should do is to pass a strong resolution condemning North Korea."
In response, Rep. Kim Young-ho of the Democratic Party, the ruling party's secretary, said, "Regarding the resolution urging the declaration of the end of the war, the reflection period has been fulfilled, so it was submitted as soon as the meeting opened today," adding, "I understand and agree with some of the opinions of the opposition members. When the time comes to consider the public's perspective and sentiment, let's discuss it thoroughly by bringing it to the bill subcommittee."
Rep. Lee Jae-jung of the Democratic Party also said, "In principle, the procedure to refer the resolution to the bill subcommittee remains, so proposing to refer it to the agenda adjustment committee now is premature," adding, "Considering the timing, it is sufficient for the National Assembly to refer it to the bill subcommittee for discussion."
Rep. Ahn Min-seok of the Democratic Party asked the opposition members, "Are you saying you support the declaration of the end of the war but think now is not the time, or are you opposing the declaration and saying now is even less the time?" He added, "The opposition says now is not the time, but I think now is precisely the time to discuss the declaration. If the declaration had been made in 2018, such unfortunate events would not have occurred."
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