Lawmakers play fox guarding the hens

It is like letting a fox guard the chicken house.

In this metaphor, the fox is lawmakers of both parties, while the chicken house is taxpayers’ money. Differently from the ambience of this saying, the lawmakers brazenly approved their overly-generous state-subsidized pensions.

This bipartisan effort to attach financing plans for their pet projects to the 2013 budget is under fire but there appears to be little chance that it will be reversed.

During the presidential campaign, legislators from both the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) pledged to give up or curtail their various financial and non-financial benefits, including pensions. But they broke their promises.

Those who have served as a lawmaker for one day or more are entitled to receive 1.2 million won (around $1,128) a month after they turn 65.

“No matter how many times the media and citizens slam lawmakers for protecting their vested rights, they will not budge an inch since they are already used to telling lies,” said Choi Chang-ryul, a political commentator and a professor at Yongin University. “Those pledges made earlier are all for winning elections. They don’t really plan to realize them.”

“There is no other choice but to reprimand them time after time through voting.”

Kang Ji-won, a former independent presidential candidate, in a radio interview Wednesday criticized the incumbent lawmakers, saying “if they want to make money out of their positions they should become businessmen instead of lawmakers.”

“It will leave the citizens, who expect positive changes after the election, disappointed.”

In addition, nine lawmakers of the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee were criticized for traveling overseas Tuesday, right after the budget bill was passed.

Tuesday’s budget approval marks the second time that the spending plan has been passed after the beginning of the fiscal year.

Committee members say the trip was to learn about budget systems in other countries and takes place regularly every year right after budget approval. An aggregate 150 million won (around $141,000) was allotted for the trip.

Meanwhile, the Saenuri Party and DUP are discussing launching a special committee on political reform — to cope with the rising criticism — to make the former pledges into laws.

“We have suggested to the DUP to jointly launch a parliamentary committee on political reform,” Lee Han-koo, floor leader of the Saenuri Party, was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

“The committee would be in charge of implementing reform pledges made previously regarding lawmakers’ vested rights.”

Party insiders say the parties are likely to launch the committee during the extra session of the National Assembly slated to take place this month.

They say bipartisan lawmakers will swiftly try to enact measures that were presented to the public during election campaigns.

“The committee will deal not only with scrapping lawmakers’ privileges but reforming the political landscape as a whole,” Lee said. <The Korea Times/Chung Min-uck>