Seoul - South Korea's opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday ended 12 days of sit-ins at Seoul's parliament triggered by policy disagreements. Party chairman Chung Sye Kyun promised to allow work at the assembly to normalize after parliament Speaker Kum Hyong agreed Sunday to delay votes on controversial legislation.
Kim urged the DP and the ruling conservative Grand National Party (GNP) to negotiate their differences.
The protests escalated Saturday, when violent scuffles broke out between DP lawmakers and security guards, leaving several people injured.
About 150 guards failed to remove the protesting lawmakers from the parliament premises.
Key to the dispute is DP's aim to prevent the GNP from passing a controversial free trade agreement with the United States before the end of the parliamentary session on Thursday.
