Fists fly in South Korean parliament: television
Posted: 15 December 2007 0241 hrs

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SEOUL : Fighting broke out in South Korea's parliament Friday as lawmakers clashed over a bill to impeach prosecutors who cleared the presidential front-runner of involvement in a fraud case.

A group of pro-government party lawmakers were forced to saw through iron cables to gain access to the National Assembly's main chamber after around 100 opposition politicians barricaded themselves in using tables and chairs.

Television footage showed lawmakers from both sides shoving each other and exchanging punches and kicks in an attempt to occupy the podium, as the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) tried to clear it for a vote on the bill.

One lawmaker was carried away on a stretcher after the fight, which left several others injured, according to Yonhap news agency.

State prosecutors last week cleared conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) candidate Lee Myung-Bak of involvement in a 2001 scam allegedly perpetrated by his detained former business partner.

The decision removed the last hurdle for the former construction executive and ex-mayor of Seoul, who touts a business-friendly approach to reinvigorate the economy.

The UNDP has introduced a bill to impeach the prosecutors, accusing them of whitewashing Lee's involvement in the scam.

The bill needs a simple majority of the 299-member legislature for approval and the UNDP has 141 seats compared to the GNP's 128. Other seats are held by minor opposition parties.

A GNP member was carried away by colleagues on a stretcher after the fight, which left several lawmakers injured, according to Yonhap news agency.

Lee, 65, is widely tipped to win in the December 19 election. His slogan of "economy first" resonates with people disenchanted with relatively slow growth under a decade of liberal governments.

A final opinion poll published Thursday gave him 44.7 percent support, far ahead of his closest challenger UNDP candidate Chung Dong-Young, who secured 15.7 percent.

Lee's former business partner, a Korean-American who fled to the United States in 2002, was arrested there in January 2004. He was extradited to South Korea last month.

- AFP /ls