By Kim Hyo-jin
The rival parties passed the budget bill for next year, Thursday.
The budget for fiscal year 2016 was set at 386.4 trillion won ($333 billion), down 300 billion won from the 386.7 trillion won the government proposed in September. This year's budget was 375.4 trillion won.
Administrative and defense spending were cut by 1.4 trillion won and 2 trillion won, respectively, while that for social welfare, transportation and logistics, and small- and mid-sized firms and energy were increased by 500 billion, 400 billion and 200 billion won, respectively.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) sparred until the last minute over how to finance free child care for those aged from three to five.
The NPAD had argued that the government should provide 500 billion won, as much as last year; while the Saenuri Party claimed it should be covered by local governments, considering the improved local fiscal capacity. They agreed to pay 300 billion won from state coffers during a meeting of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts held before the plenary session.
Earlier in the day, the floor leaders of the parties reached an agreement five hours of negotiations to pass a pending labor reform bill by the end of the year, party officials said.
They said the parties will hold an extraordinary National Assembly session in a few weeks to approve a set of five labor reforms. However, they failed to fix the exact date of the session. The current session of the Assembly will end on Dec. 9.
The ruling party drew up the bill to revise labor standards, employment insurance, industrial accident insurance and employment terms for non-regular workers on Sept. 16 in line with President Park Geun-hye's drive to reform the labor market.
It has been pending in parliament due to wide differences between the rival parties.
The ruling camp argued that revision will create more jobs, especially for young people. It stipulates increasing the employment period for non-regular workers from two to four years and expanding the number of industries permitted to temporarily dispatch workers to other enterprises.
However, the opposition parties criticized the bill for its increasing employment flexibility that could generate more non-regular workers. The NPAD claim that these workers should be able to have permanent contracts after the two-year term of employment.
The bill has been criticized by the labor sector for breaking an agreement reached during tripartite talks among labor, management and the government on Sept. 15.
The labor sector agreed with the government on easing regulations on employment on the condition that further consultations on detailed measures would follow. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the nation's second-largest umbrella union, harshly denounced the ruling party for its "unilateral" plan made a day after the agreement.
The rival parties passed the budget bill for next year, Thursday.
The budget for fiscal year 2016 was set at 386.4 trillion won ($333 billion), down 300 billion won from the 386.7 trillion won the government proposed in September. This year's budget was 375.4 trillion won.
Administrative and defense spending were cut by 1.4 trillion won and 2 trillion won, respectively, while that for social welfare, transportation and logistics, and small- and mid-sized firms and energy were increased by 500 billion, 400 billion and 200 billion won, respectively.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) sparred until the last minute over how to finance free child care for those aged from three to five.
The NPAD had argued that the government should provide 500 billion won, as much as last year; while the Saenuri Party claimed it should be covered by local governments, considering the improved local fiscal capacity. They agreed to pay 300 billion won from state coffers during a meeting of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts held before the plenary session.
Earlier in the day, the floor leaders of the parties reached an agreement five hours of negotiations to pass a pending labor reform bill by the end of the year, party officials said.
They said the parties will hold an extraordinary National Assembly session in a few weeks to approve a set of five labor reforms. However, they failed to fix the exact date of the session. The current session of the Assembly will end on Dec. 9.
The ruling party drew up the bill to revise labor standards, employment insurance, industrial accident insurance and employment terms for non-regular workers on Sept. 16 in line with President Park Geun-hye's drive to reform the labor market.
It has been pending in parliament due to wide differences between the rival parties.
The ruling camp argued that revision will create more jobs, especially for young people. It stipulates increasing the employment period for non-regular workers from two to four years and expanding the number of industries permitted to temporarily dispatch workers to other enterprises.
However, the opposition parties criticized the bill for its increasing employment flexibility that could generate more non-regular workers. The NPAD claim that these workers should be able to have permanent contracts after the two-year term of employment.
The bill has been criticized by the labor sector for breaking an agreement reached during tripartite talks among labor, management and the government on Sept. 15.
The labor sector agreed with the government on easing regulations on employment on the condition that further consultations on detailed measures would follow. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the nation's second-largest umbrella union, harshly denounced the ruling party for its "unilateral" plan made a day after the agreement.
![[INTERVIEW] Preserving Tanzania's wonders through sustainable tourism](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/9606b2df96df45e0b85a8f8df5a15235.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
