President Park Geun-hye Monday rejected a revised parliamentary bill to empower lawmakers to revise government enforcement ordinances.
“The government cannot accept the revised parliamentary bill as state affairs could be paralyzed,” Park said in a regular meeting with her top aides at the presidential office.
Park’s warning came three days after lawmakers of the rival parties passed a bill that requires government bodies to reconsider their ordinances upon a demand from the National Assembly.
Park’s office has claimed that the bill could encroach on the government’s executive rights.
Main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy leader Moon Jae-in lashed out at Park’s possible veto of the parliamentary legislation amid concerns over Park heading on a collision course with the opposition party.
“Legislation rights basically belong to the National Assembly,” Moon told reporters.
Government ordinances are to help execute legislation, but some ordinances have often failed to conform to legislation, including the ordinance on the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry which took the lives of more than 300 people last year, he noted.
Still, ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung sided with Park, saying that “the president’s intention cannot differ with that of our party.”
“What is important is whether the content of the parliamentary law is in violation of the Constitution,” Kim said, hinting at the party’s move to reconsider the bill in question. (Yonhap)
