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SEOUL : President Lee Myung-Bak Monday rapped legislators for "shameful" violence in South Korea's parliament, saying the scuffles which injured dozens damaged the nation's image.
Lee's remarks in a radio address were his first public comments on recent battles in the legislature, after opposition members staged a sit-in to physically block passage of government bills.
At one point opposition MPs used sledgehammers and chainsaws to break into a room where ruling party lawmakers were meeting. Photos were splashed across newspapers worldwide.
Another clash on January 3 left 53 security guards and two opposition legislators injured.
"Such pictures were shameful enough, but what shocked me more was what the articles said. I saw an article that said such violence is frequently witnessed at South Korea's National Assembly," the president said in his address.
Lee said such clashes damaged the nation's reputation and MPs involved must be punished.
"What is deplorable is that politics may be destroying what the government and our citizens have worked so long and hard for, to raise our brand image," he said.
The rival parties normalised the legislature's operations last week after a three-week impasse. They agreed to pass most of a series of government bills before the end of a special session that will open in February.
Lee urged MPs to move more swiftly to pass bills which he says are necessary to prop up the faltering economy.
"Three months in the first quarter and three months in the second quarter, these six months are when our economy will be in its worst condition and that is why it is so important to quickly legislate those bills," he said.
"If the passage of the bills is delayed any further, the damaging effects of the delay will be felt by our citizens, especially those in the lower socio-economic brackets," Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying.
Media reports say the conservative ruling Grand National Party (GNP) has agreed not to push ahead with a bill to ratify a free trade agreement with the United States before President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20.
It also reportedly agreed not to force through a bill allowing large businesses and newspapers to acquire substantial stakes in local broadcasters.
The two parties have also been wrangling over tax cuts for the wealthy, easing regulations on industrial conglomerates' ownership of banks and the privatisation of the state-run Korea Development Bank.
The opposition Democratic Party, which has 83 seats in the 299-member legislature against the GNP's 172, says South Korea should not ratify the free trade agreement before the US Congress does, and wants the deal to be reviewed.
The GNP says the pact is necessary to stimulate the economy and argues that approval by Seoul will encourage Congress to move faster.
- AFP/ir
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