[Editorial] For Whom Is This “Special Investigation Confrontation”?

With only one day left before the deadline of President Roh`s right to veto against the Special Investigation Law bill, the confrontation between the governing and the opposition parties is worsening. Chairman of the major opposition party GNP, Choi Byung-rul, said that the party would enter a “face-to-face struggle” against the president if he rejects the bill and that it would not participate in the re-voting process of the National Assembly.

We have already pointed out through this section that it is natural for the president to accept the bill. There cannot be any strong rationale to reject the bill, which has been passed with the absolute majority of more than two-thirds of the present representatives at the National Assembly meeting. It is believed that the special investigation is less burdensome to the president and more justified if the corruption of the close aides is so serious that it requires an assessment of the confidence in the president by the public. If the president is considering to exert the right to veto by any chance, we hereby request a reconsideration even now.

In the same manner, it is hard to think that the reaction of the GNP stands in the right course. They have said that they would "promptly hold a general meeting and set procedures to have the bill voted on again if the president vetoes,” and it is hardly persuasive now that they have completely changed their words to say they will not re-vote at all. It is a self-contradiction and denial to the Parliamentary Democracy that they implore the president to respect the decisions made by the National Assembly but would run out of the meeting hall and neglect the re-voting process as regulated by the Constitution.

That is why there are so many views from other perspectives. The Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) deserves criticism if it gives up on re-voting pressured by opposition from the representatives of Chungchung area and of the Democratic Alliance induced by the rejection of the special committee establishment bill regarding the administrative capital transfer and by opposition groups to the Special Investigation bill within the party. It was right for them not to suggest the bill in the first place if they were not so confident. The GNP should openly put the bill up for re-voting if the president vetoes. If it is passed again in a new vote, the Special Investigation will be executed, and if not passed, it will not be executed.

The president and the GNP should focus more on the impending issues regarding the current national politics and the lives of the people. There is not a single issue being resolved, including the dispatch of the troops to Iraq, the situations in Buan, and others. Also, the budget bill is the first thing to worry about now. There should be no more insecurities to the people. For whom in the world is the Special Investigation confrontation?