Rival parties clash over gov't reorganization bill

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Thursday unilaterally introduced a bill to dismantle the prosecution service and strip the finance ministry of its budget planning authority, triggering a filibuster by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). The revision to the Government Organization Act, along with three other bills, was submitted during a plenary session of the National Assembly despite strong objections from the PPP. The PPP immediately launched a filibuster to block the legislation. A filibuster can be ended after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of lawmakers consent. But the bill is expected to be put to a parliamentary vote Friday afternoon and is likely to pass. The two parties failed to reach a compromise despite last-minute negotiations, even after the DPK pledged to drop its plan to overhaul the top financial regulator. The government reorganization bill calls for scrapping the prosecution's headquarters and creating two new agencies to separately take on its indictment and investigative powers. The move comes after longstanding criticism that the prosecutionWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times