By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

All 149 lawmakers of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) tendered their resignations to party chairman Choe Byung-yul on Tuesday in a protest against President Roh Moo-hyun’s veto of the special probe bill.

For his part, Choe said he will go on hunger strike at the party headquarters until the presidential veto is withdrawn. The main opposition party decided in its full Assembly meeting to call a halt to the legislative activities on the floor.

Choe declared an all-out struggle against the government, saying Roh ``ignored the legislature and trampled on democracy.’’

Debate on next year’s budget bill was suspended as all the legislators of the majority party walked out of the Assembly building on mass. Other crucial pending bills waiting for legislative action, including the Korea-Chile free trade agreement (FTA), are feared to be swept aside due to the political confrontation.

Right after the president’s veto announcement, the opposition party convened an emergency meeting, where the party chairman and other senior officials discussed appropriate countermeasures.

Party spokesman Rep. Park Jin promised the GNP would mobilize all possible measures to correct the outrageous situation. ``All options are on the table,’’ he said.

As the first step, the party decided to boycott all Assembly activities. All of the GNP lawmakers handed in written resignations to Choe so that the party chairman could submit them to Assembly speaker at any critical juncture.

During the full Assembly meeting, some GNP members questioned whether their reaction should be so extreme. But, the majority of the lawmakers argued the party should show a united and strong stance toward the president and before the people.

With the opposition deciding to face the government head-on, the political confrontation will likely escalate further ahead of the April 15 general elections. Since neither side is unwilling to give in to the other’s demands, some analysts say chances are improving that the two sides will find a dramatic breakthrough.

While sizing up the development of the situation and closely gauging public opinion, Roh and GNP leader Choe will likely search for a good opportunity to hold a meeting.

In upping its rhetorical ante, the opposition party is also concerned about the possible backlash from the public. Though the party said they will consider all options, many say there are very few choices available to them.


jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr