The main opposition Democratic Party members of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts unilaterally passed next year’s budget bill today.
This is the first time in the committee’s history that the opposition has processed the budget alone, and followed members of the ruling People Power Party walking out just before the vote.
The passed budget bill cuts 4-point-1 trillion Korean won or around 3 billion U.S. dollars from the government’s original 6-hundred-77-point-4 trillion won.
The DP said it had no choice but to pass the budget as the committee failed to reach an agreement, and the original budget would then have been automatically sent to an Assembly plenary session.
The Assembly can cut the budget without government approval, but needs this to increase it or add new items.
Following the vote, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said the impact of the opposition’s unilateral budget cuts would fall on the people, urging the DP to work toward an agreement.
The revised budget will be voted on at the plenary session on Monday, the deadline for the vote.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=278524
