[In the Photo: Politics] The Ruling and Opposition Parties' 'Budget War' Continues Until Year-End.

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo is sitting down after taking a commemorative photo with the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties at a meeting for next year's budget negotiations held in the Speaker's office on the 15th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Dong-joo] In the end, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on next year's budget bill even on the 15th, the deadline set by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. They broke three promises in total: the legal deadline, the regular National Assembly session period, and the deadline set by the Speaker. Amid this, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are blaming each other. Both parties are raising the level of criticism, blaming the other side, but their true intentions are complicated.

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo is taking a commemorative photo with the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties during a meeting for next year's budget negotiations held at the Speaker's office on the 15th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

First, the biggest issue in next year's budget bill is the corporate tax reduction.

The ruling party's tax law amendment to lower the highest corporate tax rate from the current 25% to 22%, a 3 percentage point cut, was strongly opposed by the Democratic Party as a 'super-rich tax cut,' but they accepted Speaker Kim Jin-pyo's mediation proposal to reduce the highest rate by 1 percentage point. The People Power Party stated that lowering the corporate tax by 1 percentage point is actually "like peeing on frozen feet," meaning they cannot make any concessions.

On the 16th, when the ruling and opposition parties failed to find a consensus on the budget and passed the final deadline set by the Speaker of the National Assembly, the traffic light inside the National Assembly building seemed to reflect the current situation. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, plan to continue negotiations through the weekend, but they have not yet finalized the discussion schedule. There is a forecast that the tug-of-war between the ruling and opposition parties will continue until the end of the year.

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

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