Five Reform-mined Lawmakers Bolted From GNP

A total of five reform-minded politicians - Reps. Lee Bu-young, Kim Young-choon, Kim Boo-kyum, Lee Woo-jae and Ahn Young-keun -announced their departure Monday from the conservative GNP in a press conference.

As a result of their departure, seats occupied by the GNP in the National Assembly reduced to 148 from 153, but with Reps. Song Kwang-ho bolting from the United Liberal Democrats joining the GNP, it became to occupy a total of 149 seats at the parliament.

The five lawmakers said, “Although Korea`s politics in the past has been led by leaders who manipulating hostile regional sentiments, future Korean politics should be led by leaders who are able to usher in the era of national unity.” They said that they would create a floor negotiation group composed of over 20 lawmakers by the end of September, and eventually launch a joint reformist party in January next year. In addition, they said they opposed a constitutional revision aiming to establish a parliamentary government, aggravating regional sentiments, because they firmly believe the Roh`s government that was chosen by the people should be maintained. Furthermore, the five splinters urged political circles to stop consummative political fighting by saying, “The allegation the Hyundai group offered 15 billion won in political funds to the Kim Dae-jung government should be investigated by the prosecution, not by a new independent counsel.”

Yeon-Wook Jung jyw11@donga.com