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SEOUL : South Korea's parliament speaker on Sunday called for calm and compromise after dozens of security guards were injured in clashes with protesting lawmakers in a dispute paralysing the national assembly.
Scores of opposition lawmakers and officials have occupied a main parliamentary hall since mid-December to block a series of controversial bills, including one to ratify a free trade pact with the United States.
About 150 unarmed security guards, acting on the speaker's order, tried to break up the sit-in on Saturday and Sunday. Some protesters were frogmarched out but most stayed in place by linking arms.
The scuffles inside the National Assembly building left 53 security guards injured and one opposition lawmaker suffered an arm injury.
Some 900 riot police stood guard outside, controlling access to parliament.
Speaker Kim Hyung-O urged the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) to negotiate a deal to end the row which has crippled parliament for weeks.
"There is no reason for the ruling and opposition parties to fail in reaching an agreement if they make more efforts. Wrap up negotiations and draw a final conclusion as quickly as possible," Kim said in a statement Sunday.
He said he would wait until Thursday for the rival parties to compromise, warning of further action "to bring back order" to parliament if they fail to do so by then.
The parties have been wrangling over dozens of controversial bills, including one to ratify the US-South Korean free trade agreement which was signed last year and awaits ratification by legislators.
The opposition, which has 83 seats in the 299-member legislature compared with the GNP's 172, says South Korea should not ratify the free trade pact before the US Congress does.
Opposition lawmakers and critics, including farmers who fear it will hit their jobs, insist that the deal be given another review.
The GNP sees the pact as necessary to stimulate the slowing economy and argues that approval by Seoul will encourage the US Congress to move faster.
Another controversial bill would allow large businesses and newspapers to acquire controlling stakes in local broadcasters.
Other bills would cut taxes for the wealthy, ease regulations on industrial conglomerates' ownership of banks and privatise the state-run Korea Development Bank.
- AFP/ms
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