Negotiations between South Korea's ruling and opposition parties over the timing of a 25 trillion won supplementary budget — dubbed the "war supplementary budget" — have broken down again after the two sides failed to narrow their differences.
The Democratic Party of Korea insisted on processing the bill by April 9 given the urgency of the situation, while the People Power Party (PPP) repeated its position that the bill should be handled on April 16, after interpellation sessions with the government.
On Wednesday, floor leaders of both parties met under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik to discuss the timing of the supplementary budget process, among other matters.
PPP Floor Leader Song Eon-seok told reporters after the meeting, "The Democratic Party is using the term 'war supplementary budget.' The National Finance Act stipulates cases of war or large-scale disasters, and they appear to be exploiting that provision to justify the terminology." He added, "But has a war broken out in South Korea? War is merely a pretext for this supplementary budget."
Song continued, "If wars occurring in foreign countries are also included, does that mean South Korea must pass a supplementary budget whenever a large-scale disaster strikes another country?" He pointed out, "They need to explain to the public which provision of the National Finance Act this supplementary budget satisfies."
He emphasized, "When the April extraordinary session begins, interpellation sessions should be held from the 6th to the 8th, followed by deliberations in the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, with the supplementary budget processed on the 16th."
Yoo Sang-beom, the PPP's senior deputy floor leader for floor operations, said, "Democratic Party Chairman Chung Chung-rae fixed April 9 as the date, and the Democratic Party is entering negotiations with a stance of making no concessions whatsoever. The National Assembly's legislative schedule appears to simply follow whatever Chairman Chung designates."
The Democratic Party stood firm on processing the supplementary budget on April 9. Cheon Jun-ho, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader for floor operations, said, "At a time when the public is feeling this pain, the ruling and opposition parties must unite to deliberate and process the supplementary budget as quickly as possible, even one day sooner." He added, "Hearing from people on the ground who say they may have to shut down factories as early as next week, I felt firsthand the need for a swift supplementary budget."
Cheon also said, "I understand the opposition's position of wanting to hold interpellation sessions first, but sufficient time for questioning the government is guaranteed during the budget review process. We are not saying we won't hold interpellation sessions — we are saying the supplementary budget should be processed swiftly."
He added, "I believe there is room for further consultation, and we will work to persuade them."