[Opinion] No Work, No Salary for Lawmakers

At 2 p.m. June 5, when the opening ceremony of the 18th National Assembly was scheduled to be held under the Nation Assembly Law, lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party and the Pro-Park Alliance appeared at the National Assembly building. At the same time, lawmakers of the main opposition United Democratic Party declared at the front of the building that they “. . . refuse to attend the National Assembly until a negotiation over the beef deal takes place,” and headed out to the streets. In the morning of the same day, the new speaker and vice speaker of the National Assembly were scheduled to be selected, which, obviously, didn’t happen due to the boycott. So, it seems the first thing the 18th National Assembly did was break the law (violation of the National Assembly Law).

Literally, lawmakers have waged a “political walkout” against the people. It is the parliament where the workplace principle of “no work, no wage” should be applied. However, those assemblymen, who neglected their duty, will be paid a monthly wage of 9.01 million won on average. Considering there are 299 assemblymen, some 2.7 billion won of taxpayers’ money will go into the pockets of negligent lawmakers. But that is not all the money going down the drain. Factoring in subsidies for legislature activities worth some 1.8 million won and car and office maintenance fees, every lawmaker receives an additional 11 million won a month. In addition, the government gives every lawmaker 23 million won a month in wages for aides and secretaries. Taking into account all these expenditures, 299 lawmakers take away 140 billion won annually.

Should the government give precious taxpayers’ money to idle lawmakers who neglect their duties and blindly follow candlelight vigils that stem from the people’s distrust of politicians? Regardless of excuses, paying salaries to assemblymen who don’t work constitutes a complete waste of taxes. Because the National Assembly has yet to convene, lawmakers do nothing but stand idle in the face of the protracted beef issue and the nationwide strike of the Korean Cargo Workers Union. The massive walkout of cargo truckers is disrupting the nationwide supply chain, placing a growing burden on the people.

Some civic groups, including the conservative Citizens United for a Better Society, announced they will launch a suit against lawmakers to force them to return their salaries. If only those acts could place the Assembly on the right track. What’s heartening, though, is that voices urging self-reflection are also growing inside the National Assembly. GNP Rep. Shim Jae-chul is calling for his fellow party lawmakers to join the salary-returning initiative, saying, “We should keep our conscience in front of the public.” As of Tuesday, 18 lawmakers agreed to participate in the campaign. They plan to contribute the money to charity organizations. They deserve praise, but now that the issue is at hand, it would be better for them to devise a law that states, “No work, no salary for lawmakers.”

Editorial Writer Hong Kwon-hee (konihong@donga.com)