The bomber - who is believed to be one of the few members of the National Assembly to have been well enough in his youth to undertake his national military service – said he was trying to prevent the passage of the Free Trade Agreement or FTA with the United States.
Initially, there was general support for the FTA as it was thought it would provide an opportunity for Korean goods to flood the American market, but sentiment towards the bill quickly soured when it was discovered that the deal the government had reached with officials from Washington was so bad that it would also allow American goods to enter the Korean market, diluting Korea's pure-blooded society and making it unsafe for women to go out at night.
Populist opposition politicians warned women that as well as being sexually harassed, the free trade agreement would cause them to get appendicitis and die. Meanwhile the free trade in diseases mandated by the FTA would see many meat-eaters die in outbreaks of mad-cow disease, and any survivors - including both Korea's registered vegetarians – would likely succumb to wounds suffered in vicious urban gun battles which the trade agreement is seeking to promote. Rural dwellers were promised they would also be completely 'wiped out' by the deal, probably through starvation.
The populists hoped that by tear-gas bombing the National Assembly they would win the vote by default, since they believed ruling GNP lawmakers would have to vacate the chamber while opposition lawmakers - who over the years have developed an immunity to the gas – would be able to vote the bill down. But it appears that with many GNP lawmakers fearing the stock market would fall heavily if the FTA wasn't passed, for the first time in their lives they bravely stayed at their posts, passing it by 151-7.
Police are said to be investigating the incident inside the National Assembly, as they are currently trying to replace existing stocks of tear gas with a new version that has fewer health hazards, and it is hoped that lawmakers may be willing to take surplus stocks off their hands. However, they may face competition from the army, which is also working to reduce its stocks of stun grenades.
The passage of the US-Korea FTA comes months after the passage of an EU-Korea FTA that the GNP promised would destroy the European Union once and for all after it sided with North Korea in the ongoing inter-Korean conflict. But while it seems the EU is destined to cease to exist by the end of the year, the US is showing no signs of breaking apart in the hours since the FTA with Korea was signed, leading to fears the Korean Wave may be weakening.
Related Links
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Assembly ratifies US FTA as GNP rams through motion
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EU Sides With North Korea in Ongoing Korean Conflict
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