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The National Assembly is largely tasked with coordinating differing opinions to resolve social conflicts. Contrary to this expectation, however, the nation’s leading legislative body has long been the object of public cynicism for locking horns over major pending issues.
The National Assembly has the responsibility to mediate differences in order to resolve social conflicts. Contrary to these expectations, however, the Korean National Assembly has long been a target of cynicism by the public for engaging in political strife over major pending issues.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which dominates the 299-seat Assembly with 169 members, cannot deflect criticism for having unilaterally handled significant social agendas at its discretion. The ruling People Power Party (PPP), for its part, has also been disparaged for its inability to lead the opposition party toward negotiation and compromise.
The Democratic Party of Korea, which holds 299 seats in the National Assembly with 169 members, cannot avoid criticism for unilaterally handling important social agendas. The power of the people, the ruling party in power, has also been criticized for failing to lead the opposition party to negotiations and compromise.

What is more worrying is that such extreme confrontation shows no signs of abating and will likely deepen ahead of the general election slated for April next year.
What is more worrisome is that this extreme confrontation is showing no signs of abating ahead of the general elections in April next year, and is likely to intensify.

For starters, the DPK took the lead in passing a bill requiring the government to purchase rice from farmers to help stabilize market prices on Thursday. The DPK dealt with the bill unilaterally despite growing demand for debate over possible side effects in case of introducing the bill.
First, on Thursday, Democrats took the lead in passing a bill that would allow the government to buy rice from farmers to stabilize market prices. The Democratic Party unilaterally handled the bill despite the growing demand for discussion on the possible side effects of the proposed bill.

The bill, however, will likely face diverse barricades toward effectuation, as the presidential office is poised to take time and collect opinions from various sectors for the amendment. President Yoon Suk Yeol has often vowed to reject it. The DPK, however, is ready to press for its stance and adopt a new bill should the amendment be vetoed. This shows the parties have no intention of budging from their stances, putting the National Assembly on a fierce confrontational track again.
However, as the President’s office is poised to take time and collect opinions from all walks of life on the amendment, the bill is expected to face many obstacles until it takes effect. President Yoon Seok-yeol has stated several times that he will exercise his right to veto (request for reconsideration). But Democrats are poised to adopt a new bill that will reflect their position if the amendment is rejected. This shows that there is no change in the attitude of the two parties, which is driving the National Assembly into a fierce confrontation again.

The Grain Management Act asks the government to buy rice directly from farmers should the harvest of the staple grain exceed 3 percent to 5 percent of the estimated demand or the rice prices fall 5 percent to 8 percent from a year earlier. Controversy has been brewing over the amendment with regard to its efficiency amid concerns over the chronic oversupply of rice, edged by declining consumption and prospects of a deteriorating governmental budget.
The amendment to the Grain Management Act requires the government to directly purchase rice from farmers when the rice yield exceeds 3 to 5 percent of expected demand or when the price of rice falls by 5 to 8 percent compared to the previous year. Controversy has arisen over the effectiveness of the amendments amid concerns about a chronic rice oversupply, in addition to the prospect of declining consumption and deteriorating government budgets.

The DPK has been adding fuel to the already burning fire over the possibly deepening political scuffle. On the same day, the party passed another bill designed to boost the welfare and rights of nurses ― despite ferocious resistance from medical doctors. The bill should have been handled very cautiously in light of the sharply differing positions maintained by the relevant organizations. Without this, the conflict is expected to flare up further as the Korea Medical Association (KMA), a mouthpiece of medical doctors across the nation, has threatened to mobilize all possible measures to protest the possible passage of the bill.
Democrats are adding fuel to an already deepening political melee. On the same day, Democrats passed another bill to promote the welfare and rights of nurses, despite fierce resistance from doctors. Considering the situation in which the positions of related groups are sharply divided, the bill should have been handled very carefully. The conflict is expected to intensify as the Korean Medical Association, the representative of doctors across the country, is threatening to mobilize all available means to protest the bill’s possible passage.

The DPK also decided to table the controversial Broadcasting Act directly to the plenary session despite the PPP’s protest over what it calls an attempt to put major broadcasters under its control. The DPK also bypassed the Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee headed by PPP Rep. Kim Do-eup for voting at a plenary session. A bill needs to be passed by the committee first to be voted at the plenary session. But should the bill remain pending at the committee for 60 days, it can be bypassed and be tabled directly at a plenary session.
The Democratic Party also decided to bring the controversial broadcasting law to control major broadcasters directly to the plenary session despite the protests of the people’s power. The Democratic Party also bypassed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly chaired by Rep. Kim Do-eup for a vote at the plenary session that day. In order for a bill to pass in the plenary session, it must first pass in the Judiciary Committee. However, if the bill is pending in committee for 60 days, it can be bypassed and brought directly to plenary session.

What matters is that the unilateral passage of the disputed bills will burden the people. It is natural to collect opinions from various circles of society to reach a compromise on sensitive social issues covering relevant organizations and the government. For this, the National Assembly is supposed to mediate the parties and extract compromises.
What is important is that the unilateral handling of controversial bills puts a burden on the public. It is only natural to seek a compromise on sensitive social issues involving relevant institutions and governments by collecting opinions from all walks of life. To this end, the National Assembly must mediate between the parties and come to a compromise.

Mar. Sun (Tuesday) The Korea Times editorial

KEY WORDS
■ Refrain from refrain from
■ skirmish small collision[언쟁]
■ disparage
■ abate (strength) weakens
■ be poised to
■ add fuel to the fire to fan the fire, exacerbate the problem
■ unilateral

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By Ko Dong-hwan

There is a tiny island on the Han River in the middle of Seoul where human entry is restricted almost all the time.
There is a small island near the Han River in the middle of Seoul where people are almost restricted from entering.

Only those contracted to monitor the site twice daily and those with clearance for research purposes are allowed to visit.
Entry is allowed only when permission is obtained for research purposes with a contracted on-site patrol twice a day.

The island, 1.3 kilometers long and 300 meters wide, is internationally recognized for its significance in providing a natural habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife species.
Bamseom, 1.3km long and 300m wide, is internationally recognized for providing a natural habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife species.

Bam Island has been under the city’s protection since 1999 when the city government recognized its ecological value. It earned additional recognition from the United Nations Convention on Wetlands in 2012, being designated as a Ramsar Wetland ― an ecological site of international importance under the Ramsar Convention of 1971.
Bamseom has been protected by the city since the city of Seoul recognized its ecological protection value in 1999. With further recognition from the 2012 United Nations Convention on Wetlands, it was designated as a ‘Ramsar Wetland’, an ecological site of international importance under the 1971 Ramsar Convention.

On Monday, the island received a rare visit from humans aboard a fleet of multipurpose operation vessels equipped with a high-pressure water hose and a hydraulic crane. Dispatched by the Han River Affairs Bureau under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the boats arrived at the island on a mission to clean up the site.
On Monday, Bam Island was visited by people aboard multi-purpose vessels equipped with high-pressure water sprinklers and hydraulic cranes after a long absence. The Han River Project Headquarters under the Seoul Metropolitan Government dispatched a boat to the island to clean the site.

Korean willows that extensively populate the island were covered with droppings from thousands of great cormorants that stop by the island every winter.
The willows, the main flora of Bamseom Island, are covered with the droppings of thousands of cormorants that visit every winter.

“They usually perch high up on the trees along the island’s shoreline,” said Joo Yong-tae, the chief of the river affairs bureau. “If we don’t spray those droppings off the trees and just let them remain there, they prevent the branches from budding in spring.”
Joo Yong-tae, head of Seoul’s Han River Project Headquarters, said, “Cormorants are usually perched on tall trees along the island’s coastline.” “If the excrement is not washed off the tree and left as it is, it will not sprout in the spring.”

The importance of this job has risen in recent years with the number of migratory birds visiting the area spiking every winter. They numbered over 1,800 in November 2020 and the figure jumped to over 2,200 in 2021 and almost 4,700 in 2022, according to the city government.
The importance of cleaning has increased in recent years as the number of migratory birds that visit Ramsar sites every winter has skyrocketed. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of migratory birds visiting Ramsar exceeded 1,800 in November 2020, then surged to more than 2,200 in 2021 and nearly 4,700 in 2022.

KEY WORDS
■ entry (rights/opportunities to do so)
■ restrict restriction[한정]do
■ contract
■ Clearance approval, permission
■ habitat
■ migratory bird
■ ecological
■ designate
■ perch sitting
■ spike (value) soar

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By Robert Neff

Over the last couple of decades, Jeju has often been called the Island of World Peace. But in the spring of 1903, it was anything but peaceful to the small Japanese community ― at least according to the Japanese press.

In January, 53-year-old Hong Jong-u was appointed as magistrate (governor) of Jeju Island. Many people might have viewed his appointment as a promotion or reward, but to Hong it was a demotion ― a form of exile in order to remove him from the capital and politics. Yep, despite being so far away from the capital, Hong still managed to entangle himself in an international incident with his policies on Jeju.

Hong Jong-u during his stay in France. Public Domain – Wikipedia

Hong had a very interesting career and, depending on your political slant, was either a heroic assassin or a cowardly murderer. Hong befriended Kim Ok-kuin (one of the leaders of the failed Gapsin Coup in December 1884) in Japan and together they arrived in Shanghai on March 27, 1894. The following day, while Kim was resting ― Hong suddenly pulled out a revolver and shot him four times, killing him instantly.

The Chinese authorities declared that the issue was a Korean problem and sent both Kim’s corpse and his killer back to Korea for justice. It was a brutal justice. Kim’s corpse was hacked into pieces and displayed throughout the country, while Hong was promoted and given various positions of power.

It is somewhat ironic that Hong, who was very conservative, would play a role in protecting a progressive ― a progressive that would become a leading figure in modern Korean history.
According to Brother Anthony of Taize:

“Hong Jong-u was the presiding judge of the high court known as Pyeongniwon. This was the time of the conservative crackdown on the members of the Independence Club at the end of 1898 and among those on trial was a young student, Yi Seung-man, better known in later times as Syngman Rhee. Hong and Rhee were diametrically opposed. At that time, Rhee might easily have been sentenced to death, yet Rhee later wrote how amazed he was to find Hong determined to save his life; instead, he was sentenced to 100 blows on the buttocks and life imprisonment. He also wrote that Hong gave orders to be gentle when the beating was performed, so that after the 100 blows his skin was not even broken.”

A Korean prison in the late 19th century. Robert Neff Collection

As can be seen, Hong was a man of action ― even if one act conflicted later with another. Hong, who had spent several years in France, was inclined to be pro-French and according to the Japanese press, when he assumed his position on Jeju he acted “in concert with, or by the advice of, French missionaries, he enjoined upon the inhabitants of the island the necessity of not renting houses to Japanese subjects; not selling objects of daily necessity to them; and not buying goods from Japanese merchants.”

Anyone violating the above would be imprisoned. Doubling down on his demands, Hong also declared that any Korean found attending the Japanese school on the island would be beheaded.

The 1,500 Japanese residing on the island became rightfully concerned and sent a missive ― via a Japanese fishing boat ― to the Japanese authorities in Mokpo asking for immediate assistance. It warned that if help were not received soon, the Japanese residents on the island would be forced to flee.

Some Japanese newspapers reported a detachment of Japanese police and a warship as being sent to the island to help quell the “alleged outrages” but one English-language newspaper in Japan (The Japan Weekly Mail) denounced these claims as “much exaggerated.”

Administering punishment in the late 19th or early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection

The claims that the “ex-assassin governor” had issued a statement pointing out that Jeju was not open to trade and so the Japanese had no right to be on the island whereas the French missionaries enjoyed special privileges granted from the Foreign Office in Seoul were unfounded.

The editor of The Japan Weekly Mail noted that there were no official reports in Tokyo of these outrages save that there were some minor commercial issues. If there was unrest on the island, it was not reported in the Korea Review (published in Seoul by Homer Hulbert) which was fully fixated on the French missionary problems in northern Korea and would have undoubtedly been thrilled to add these alleged incidents to its pages.

Hong may not have been as bad as the Japanese press portrayed him, but he was definitely not a beloved governor. According to Jo Jae-gon (the author of “That is why I shot Kim Ok-kuin”), Hong had a large number of pine trees cut down and levied the people with heavy taxes of money. His abuses became so severe that the islanders petitioned the Korean government to recall Hong, but their pleas went unanswered. Perhaps, as Brother Anthony suggests, Hong “was probably intent on securing funds for a bleak future.”

Mokpo in the early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection

Indeed, it was bleak. In the spring of 1905, Hong resigned from his position and went to live in Mokpo. Within a few years, he faded from the pages of history. One account claims he was attacked by a mob and humiliated as being worthless. It is said that he died at the start of 1913 (according to his clan records) in Mokpo while another account suggests it was in Jemulpo (modern Incheon) ― horrifically, as he was dying from starvation, people gathered around and mocked him.

His tomb is unknown ― perhaps, as some have suggested, he was buried in Seoul in a graveyard near Bonghak Mountain where his spirit wanders restlessly, his final resting place forsaken, but his malevolent deeds immortalized.

If you are interested in learning more about Hong Jong-u, I would encourage you to go to Brother Anthony’s page.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.

By Lee Gyu-lee

The director of Netflix’s hit series, “The Glory,” about a woman taking revenge against her classmates who tormented and torturted her in high school, has admitted to recent accusations of school violence, apologizing to a victim, who was a student at the time, for assaulting him.
The PD of Netflix’s hit drama ‘The Glory’, which depicts the story of a woman who takes revenge on her classmates who bullied and tortured her in high school, recently admitted to allegations of school violence and apologized to the then-student victim.

The accusation surfaced when an online user wrote a post last Friday, saying the director, Ahn Gil-ho, had assaulted him and another student.
The suspicion arose last Friday when an online user posted an article claiming that PD Ahn Gil-ho assaulted him and another student.

“Director Ahn had a girlfriend when he was studying abroad in the Philippines in 1996. When he heard his girlfriend was made fun of at her school because of him, he got emotional and inflicted enduring pain on others,” the law firm that represents Ahn said in the statement on behalf of the director, Sunday.
PD Ahn’s legal representative said in a statement on Sunday, “PD Ahn had a girlfriend who he started dating when he was studying in the Philippines in 1996. When he heard that his girlfriend was made fun of at school because of him, his emotions were momentarily intensified. He gave others wounds that could not be erased.”

“He deeply asks for forgiveness from the bottom of his heart from those who were hurt by this incident. He wants to express that if given the chance, he would like to apologize in person or via a call.”
“PD Ahn seeks forgiveness from the bottom of his heart for those who have been hurt by this incident. If given the opportunity, he would like to express his apology in person or through a phone call.”

The user said he was in middle school at the time, attending the same school as Ahn’s girlfriend in the Philippines.
The writer himself revealed that he was a middle school student who attended the same school as Ahn PD’s Filipino girlfriend at the time.

When Ahn, who went to a different school, found out people at his girlfriend’s school teased her, he physically assaulted the user and one other student.
PD Ahn, who was attending another school at the time, assaulted the writer and another student when he found out that students who went to the same school as his girlfriend made fun of his girlfriend.

“There were about 15 people there, including Ahn. When he asked us who made fun of his girlfriend and we didn’t answer, he made threats like ‘I’ll bring a knife’ and ‘I’ll stab you,’ and he beat us up. The assault lasted for about two hours,” he wrote.
The writer said, “There were about 15 people there, including PD Ahn. I asked who made fun of my girlfriend, and when we didn’t answer, they assaulted us with threats like ‘I’ll bring a knife’ or ‘I’ll stab you’. The assault lasted for about two hours,” he said.

“I didn’t want to bring up this bullying issue if Ahn was living rightfully. But for a bully to make a series like ‘The Glory,’ which is meant to teach lessons about bullying, it felt outrageous and unforgivable. So I’ve decided to share.”
“If Ahn PD is living right, I didn’t want to bring up this issue of school violence. However, it felt absurd and unforgivable to produce a series like ‘The Glory’ where the perpetrators learn lessons about school violence. So share decided.”

The director denied assaulting any other students soon after the post was uploaded.
Immediately after the post was posted, Ahn PD denied assaulting the students.

“That never happened,” he said to a local news agency, Yonhap. “I do not recall beating someone up in a group.”
PD Ahn explained to Yonhap News, “There was no such thing at all,” and “No matter how much I think about it, I don’t remember hitting someone in a group.”

Yonhap additionally reported that his former girlfriend at the time also acknowledged the assault.
Yonhap News reported additionally that the ex-girlfriend at the time also admitted to the assault.

March 15, page 8 article

KEY WORDS
■ torment
■ torture
■ suspicion of accusation
assault to assault
■ make fun of
■ inflict pain
■ statement

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