Rival parties are at an impasse over how to amend the Constitution as well as possible changes to the Broadcast Act, if necessary, to ensure neutrality on the public airwaves.<br />Naturally the government's proposal for extra spending is waiting in line.<br />Kim Min-ji has the latest from the National Assembly. <br /> Despite three rounds of talks on Monday,... rival parties failed to hammer out an agreement to normalize parliament, which has been at a standstill since last week.<br />For starters, the parties are still far apart on how to amend the country's decades-old Constitution.<br /> Most parties have put forward their own versions as a basis for negotiations,... but they've only reconfirmed their differences over contentious areas,... such as changing the government structure.<br />Opposition parties want to reduce the president's powers and give more authority to a prime minister,... picked or recommend by parliament.<br />But the ruling party, which prefers a four-year presidency... with the possibility of a second, consecutive term,... argues that this could lead to paralysis in state affairs if the president and prime minister are unable to get along.<br /><br /> Another disputed area is revising the Broadcast Act.<br />The opposition are calling for public broadcasters to have a 13-member board -- seven members recommended by the ruling party and six by the opposition bloc.<br />And to elect a company chief, two-thirds of the board's approval would be needed.<br /> The opposition parties want the bill to be passed swiftly to strengthen broadcast neutrality,... but the ruling party has called for further discussions on the matter.<br /><br />And the standoff is holding back other agendas.<br /> A full parliament session scheduled for Monday was called off -- in which Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon was set to give a policy speech on the government's proposed extra budget bill,... worth about 3-point-7 billion U.S. dollars.<br /> The current situation also puts in doubt whether the parliamentary interpellation session scheduled to begin on Tuesday will go ahead as planned.<br /><br /> "The National Assembly has already wasted a week with no work done, despite a stack of agendas to go through in April. Eyes will be on when and to what extent the parties will make concessions to get parliament moving again. Kim Min-ji, Arirang News." <br />
