(LEAD) Ruling party makes last-ditch plea for revision to referendum act

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SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Democratic Party on Friday made an urgent plea for the passage of a revision to the referendum act, a step required for a plebiscite on a constitutional revision, with the political deadline for its promulgation just three days away.

The party has pushed to pass the bill by Friday, as it believes it cannot deliver on its plan to hold a public vote on the constitutional amendment at the same time as the June 13 local elections, should the revision not be passed by the day.

The state election watchdog has said that the revision has to be approved by parliament and promulgated by Monday next week, as it needs at least 50 days to make a list of eligible voters, including overseas citizens, and carry out other procedures before the proposed vote in June.

Little progress has been made in parliamentary talks on the revision bill amid partisan squabbles over a set of disputed bills, a controversy surrounding a former financial watchdog chief and an opinion rigging scandal allegedly linked to a ruling party lawmaker.

"If we fail to handle the revision bill by today, our pledge to hold the referendum on the constitutional revision simultaneously with the June local elections will go down the drain," Woo Won-shik, the ruling party's whip, said during a party meeting.

"The 20th National Assembly could be labeled the worst, most inept parliament since our country's democratization, and as one that went against public sentiment," he added.

To secure parliamentary approval for a change to the referendum act, the revision bill has to go through deliberations at the parliamentary committees on public administration and legislation, and then a floor vote -- procedures that could take days.

In 2014, the Constitutional Court deemed a clause in the referendum act unconstitutional on the grounds that it limits the suffrage of overseas citizens. The court decided to keep it valid until December 2015, but the parliament failed to revise it by that time.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party has boycotted key parliamentary sessions, calling on the ruling party to accept its demands for a special probe into the online opinion rigging scandal and the passage of a broadcast act change aimed at ensuring the political neutrality of public broadcasters.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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