South Korean filibuster against anti-terror bill in 5th day
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's opposition lawmakers on Saturday continued their nonstop speeches for a fifth straight day in parliament to block a vote on a government-backed anti-terrorism bill that they say would threaten personal freedoms and privacy if passed into law.
Jung Cheong Rae spoke for nearly 12 hours before leaving the podium late in the afternoon, breaking a record for the country's longest parliamentary speech set on Wednesday by fellow opposition legislator Eun Soo Mi, who spoke for 10 hours and 18 minutes.
Two NIS directors who successively headed the spy service from 1999 to 2003 were convicted and received suspended prison terms for overseeing the monitoring of cellphone conversations of about 1,800 of South Korea's political, corporate and media elite.
Another former NIS chief was sentenced to three years in prison last year after being found guilty of ordering an illicit online campaign to support then-ruling party candidate Park ahead of the 2012 presidential election and smear her main liberal rival, Moon Jae-in.