Floor leaders of the main parties on Tuesday agreed on a tight parliamentary schedule.

The timetable must be executed in a timely fashion to avoid a budget fracas similar to last year’s when lawmakers passed the 2014 budget minutes into the New Year.

According to the agreements, Rep. Lee Wan-koo of the governing Saenuri Party and Rep. Woo Yoon-keun of the main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy will lead lawmakers in reviewing the proposed 2015 government budget and concluding negotiations over controversial draft bills.

On Oct. 29 and 30, plenary sessions will be held in which President Park Geun-hye will deliver a policy speech on next year’s proposed budget. Representatives of the Saenuri Party and the NPAD will also make keynote speeches.

In the first week of November, lawmakers will hold interpellation sessions on the budget and current affairs.

Legislators are expected to be busy at the year’s end. The budget review is due by Dec. 2, in accordance with parliamentary laws. Talks over Park’s proposals to abolish the Coast Guard and final negotiations over the special Sewol bill are also expected to take some time, according to experts.

But obstacles that threaten to hamper the already-packed agenda abound.

Parliamentary debates surrounding next year’s budget will likely focus on proposed increases on tobacco- and automobile-related taxes. The main opposition party has vowed to block the hikes, saying the increased levies will prove harmful to low-income earners. Ruling party legislators have said the extra levies are designed to discourage smoking and lessen the financial burdens on struggling local governments.

Negotiations over proposals to abolish the Coast Guard are also expected to be time-consuming. In May, Park suggested disbanding the nation’s maritime law enforcement body in an apparent response to the public outcry over the Coast Guard’s failure to rescue 304 passengers in the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster.

But opposition lawmakers and even some Saenuri legislators have opposed the plan, saying the proposal was brash. Critics cite the Coast Guard’s multifaceted security role, which includes defending South Korean fishing grounds in the West Sea against encroaching foreign fishermen. Chinese fishermen have been involved in violent clashes with maritime officials, resulting in multiple deaths on both sides.

Negotiations over the special Sewol bill have also make little progress since Sept. 30, when floor leaders agreed on the basic framework governing the bill.

The special bill aims to set up a special investigation into the government’s botched rescue operations following the accident. Parties are still divided over how much legal authority to grant the families of those killed in the calamity.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)