The Democratic Party and the People Power Party have agreed to review and approve the government’s supplementary budget by April 10.
Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do and People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok announced the agreement immediately after their meeting on the afternoon of the 30th.
The parties agreed to convene an extraordinary April session of the National Assembly on April 3 and to conduct the Budget and Accounts Committee’s departmental reviews of the supplementary budget during comprehensive policy questioning on April 7 and 8.
They plan to approve the supplementary budget in a plenary session by April 10.
Han said, "This morning (the 30th) we met with the Assembly speaker at 10 a.m., and at noon the floor leaders held a working lunch. We met twice more afterward and reached an agreement." He added that the lunch had been meaningful and that the subsequent meetings were helpful in reaching the accord.
However, Song—who has criticized the proposal as a rushed supplementary budget and opposed its passage—said, "Today we only agreed on the schedule for an April extraordinary session to consider the supplementary budget. Detailed review and consultations on the budget’s specifics will be carried out in depth between the parties at the Budget and Accounts Committee level."
The parties also agreed that on March 31, within the current March session, they will vote to elect chairs for four standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, whose chairmanship became vacant as members stepped down to run in local elections. They also scheduled government questioning for April 3, 6 and 13.
