S. Korea's Nat'l Assembly passes 31.8 tln-won extra budget bill only with ruling party
The National Assembly on Friday approved an extra budget bill worth 31.8 trillion won (US$23.3 billion), in what marked the first supplementary budget bill passed under the Lee Jae Myung government, Yonhap reports.
The Assembly passed the bill in a 168-3 vote with 11 invalid ballots during a plenary session. Only lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), which currently holds a parliamentary majority, and other minor parties participated in the vote.
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) opposed the ruling party's unilateral proceedings and boycotted the vote.
The approval came 30 days after the launch of the new government and 11 days after the budget proposal was submitted to the National Assembly.
Earlier in the day, a parliamentary subcommittee passed the extra budget bill, with the DP vowing to pass the bill at the National Assembly's plenary session despite the opposition's objection.
PPP lawmakers walked out of the subcommittee meeting, denouncing the DP's decision to railroad the extra budget bill.
The latest extra budget was raised by 1.3 trillion won from the 30.5 trillion won budget initially proposed by the government.
The rival parties had been in last-minute talks over contentious issues of the planned extra budget, including whether to give cash handouts to all citizens, but they failed to narrow differences, Rep. Moon Jin-seok of the DP told reporters earlier in the day.
Moon said the DP, which holds a majority at the National Assembly, will push the bill through regardless of whether PPP lawmakers attend the session.
The DP has been seeking to pass the extra budget bill by Friday before the current special parliamentary session ends.
As reported previously, South Korea earmarks 88.5 trillion won for response to the low birth rate, aging population in 2025.
