In August 1995 the U.S. Senate's ethics committee voted unanimously to expel Senator Bob Packwood of the Republican Party for allegations of sexual harassment. He was a five-term heavyweight who had been the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, but he resigned the following month when it became clear he was going to be expelled by the full Senate.
What about the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea? It would be fair to say it does not have the ability to clean up its own act. The only committee it has for that is the special committee on ethics and all it has the authority to examine is that which relates to Assembly activities. It cannot take action against things that happen beyond the Assembly, even when clearly criminal, as is the case with sexual harassment on the part of Choi Yeon Hee. All it can do is send him a notice saying that he had violated rules on ethical practices by Assembly members.
To make matters worse, even when a bill goes to the ethics committee, most of the time it just fizzles out in the end because the ruling and opposition parties protect their own. During the 17th National Assembly some 17 cases went to the ethics committee, including the "vulgar language while drinking in Daegu" incident, but all ended up being automatically scrapped because the clock ran out or were concluded with simple ritual warnings. Furthermore, even when a censure bill gets approved in committee and is sent to the Speaker, it rarely gets presented on the main floor. Since last year Speaker Kim Won Ki has failed to take action on ten censure bills. Subsequently no substantial motions have been enacted through the committee since it was established in 1991.
In response to the sexual harassment by Assembly member Choi Yeon Hee the ruling and opposition parties have introduced bills that would make a better ethics committee, including the formation of an outside body of advisors and heavy penalties for ethics violations. Those are things they promised during the last general election campaign. Leaving the task to the politicians will mean little of substance ever happens. If the National Assembly really has a desire to improve the situation is should leave that to the people, from the early stages of the discussion. Aside from that, it is time to actively consider the introduction of a "people's recall" system through which problematic lawmakers can be judged for their actions while still in office.
The Hankyoreh, 4 March 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] The People Must Clean Up Nat'l Assembly |
