Lee Nakyon and Kim Jongin Agree to Swiftly Process Fourth Supplementary Budget: "Will Work to Distribute Funds Before Chuseok"

First Luncheon Meeting of Ruling and Opposition Leaders Presided Over by Speaker Park Byeongseok
Monthly Regular Meetings Agreed... Differences Remain on CIO and Committee Formation Issues

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeongseok, Lee Nakyon, leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Jongin, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, are posing at the luncheon meeting hosted by the Speaker of the National Assembly held at Sarangjae in the National Assembly on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dongju doso7@

[Asia Economy, Reporter Kim Hyemin] On September 10, the ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement to swiftly process the fourth supplementary budget, which has been set at 7.8 trillion won, to ensure that more people receive disaster relief funds before the Chuseok holiday.

Lee Nakyon, leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Jongin, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, held their first luncheon meeting at the National Assembly on this day, presided over by Speaker Park Byeongseok. Han Minsoo, chief spokesperson of the National Assembly, Choi Inho, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, and Kim Eunhye, spokesperson for the People Power Party, announced the agreement.

On this day, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to "process the fourth supplementary budget as quickly as possible and work to ensure that as many citizens as possible receive emergency disaster relief funds before Chuseok." In addition, they decided to handle as many bills as possible related to COVID-19 prevention and public livelihood support at the plenary session scheduled for the 24th.

Furthermore, the parties agreed that for common issues among the pledges and party platforms from the April 15 general election, the policy chiefs of both parties would coordinate and process them. The National Assembly Secretariat will actively support this by forming working-level teams, including the Legislative Research Office. The ruling and opposition parties also agreed to hold regular monthly meetings of the floor leaders, presided over by the Speaker.

However, during the meeting, no progress was made on sensitive issues such as negotiations over the composition of parliamentary committees and the recommendation of candidates for the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).

During opening remarks at the closed-door meeting, Chairman Kim stated, "The customary practices for committee formation have not been observed, causing significant rifts between the ruling and opposition parties, and the situation remains unresolved." He once again raised the issue of the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. However, according to Chief Spokesperson Choi, Leader Lee responded by saying that "this is not a matter where the twists and turns of negotiation can be repeated."

Spokesperson Kim Eunhye stated, "Chairman Kim remarked that if these issues remain unresolved, the tense relationship between the ruling and opposition parties will inevitably persist."

Regarding the agreement to process as many livelihood support bills as possible, Chairman Kim said, "There likely won't be major disagreements, but if political issues are included, it could lead to continued conflict between the ruling and opposition parties." Spokesperson Kim added, "He also said that he does not expect political controversy bills to be introduced in the final year of President Moon Jaein's term."

Meanwhile, Spokesperson Kim reported that during the meeting, Chairman Kim requested comprehensive COVID-19 testing for all members of the National Assembly. Chairman Kim stated, "There are quite a few people who are skeptical about the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, suspecting that the figures might be politically manipulated. If everyone in the National Assembly could undergo testing, I believe it would help dispel such suspicions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.