Parties agree to 2-day delay of budget review

Lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) announce a bipartisan agreement on a two-day delay of a budget proposal review in the National Assembly after a meeting Sunday. From left are Reps. Lee Choon-suak of the NPAD, and Hong Moon-pyo and Lee Hag-jae of the Saenuri Party. / Yonhap

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) agreed Sunday to delay the review of the proposed 2015 budget bill by two days.

Under the current law, parties are required to complete deliberation of the budget bill two days before it is to be voted on at plenary session of the National Assembly. Under the rule, the rival parties had to complete the review no later than Sunday.

The bipartisan agreement enables the parties to continue to review the bill until Dec. 2. Otherwise, the bill, which was not fully read, will be automatically put on the table for the vote.

The two sides agreed to review the proposal until Dec. 2, which is the legal deadline by when the parties must vote on the budget.

Despite the delay of the review, the Saenuri and the NPAD remained committed to passing the budget bill on Dec. 2 as agreed earlier.

Lawmakers of the two parties continued to review the budget bill. But they failed to narrow their differences over details.

The Saenuri Party strove to secure money for President Park Geun-hye’s signature “creative economy” policy and financial resources to stimulate the economy.

But the NAPD was reluctant to increase spending for these purposes.

If the parties pass the budget bill on Dec. 2, it will be the first time for the National Assembly to meet the deadline in 12 years.