Ruling and Opposition Agree to Pass Supplementary Budget Bill by 23rd... Standing Committee Chair Allocation 'Deferred'

Plenary Session Starts from the 8th
Ruling Party Pledges to Avoid "Fairness Controversy" over Disaster Relief Funds

Han Byung-do, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Choo Kyung-ho, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party, are exchanging greetings before holding a meeting on July's extraordinary session schedule at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Junyi Park and Chaeun Koo] The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to pass the supplementary budget bill (추경안) within this month. The ongoing conflict over the distribution of standing committee chairmanships has been temporarily set aside, with the ruling party agreeing to take on the role of temporary chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

On the morning of the 5th, Han Byung-do, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Choo Kyung-ho, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, met with reporters immediately after their meeting at the National Assembly and stated, "The plenary session for the supplementary budget bill will open at 10 a.m. on the 8th," adding, "We will make every effort to process the supplementary budget bill by the 23rd."

The ruling and opposition parties agreed to temporarily appoint the ruling party’s member as the chairman of the Budget and Accounts Committee to review the supplementary budget bill during this plenary session. Deputy Floor Leader Choo explained, "It is urgent to activate the Budget and Accounts Committee to process the supplementary budget bill," and added, "The ruling party has agreed on a magnanimous level to take on the chairmanship of the Budget and Accounts Committee related to this supplementary budget review for the normal operation of the National Assembly."

The issue of distributing standing committee chairmanships, including the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, will be discussed again later. Previously, the Democratic Party stated that it would return seven standing committee chairmanships, excluding the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship, to the opposition party, but the People Power Party has maintained that it cannot negotiate without the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship. Regarding this, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Han said, "There is still a significant gap in positions regarding the distribution of standing committee chairmanships, and no progress has been made," adding, "I think negotiations should be concluded within July." Deputy Floor Leader Choo also said, "We will meet daily and communicate frequently to discuss further."

Meanwhile, at a press briefing on the same day, Park Wan-joo, the policy chief of the Democratic Party, mentioned regarding the disaster relief funds to be distributed through the supplementary budget, "We will ensure there is no controversy over fairness so that the entire nation can see practical effects," and added, "For dual-income households, we will run simulations, and for cashback cards, we will secure effectiveness to ensure the system is efficiently established." He also said, "The debate over whether it should be nationwide or selective for 80% still requires further discussion through party meetings," and added, "We will aim to reach an agreement without requiring additional fiscal spending such as issuing more government bonds as much as possible."

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