Political parties denied Monday agreeing to a vote-trading scheme over two contentious draft bills, likely foreshadowing a war of words over related legislation.

Senior lawmakers were rumored to have discussed on Friday an interparty vote-exchange over revisions to the Public Officials Pension Act and a bill authorizing a parliamentary probe into allegations that the Lee Myung-bak administration had recklessly increased the national debt.

But with both parties denying that any quid pro quo over the draft laws was discussed, agreements on them appear a long way off.

“Let me make this clear,” Rep. Park Wan-joo of the main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy said Monday. “There will be no logrolling votes on the public officials’ pension reforms.”

The governing Saenuri Party recently sponsored amendments to the Public Officials Pension Act. The revisions aimed at reducing national pension schemes’ burden on the national debt by decreasing payouts and increasing payments from workers. The proposals, however, have met with fierce opposition from the NPAD and civil servants.

“Debates over the (public officials’ pensions) have just begun. We are not at a stage where we can trade votes over the bill,” a key aide to Rep. Lee Wan-koo of the Saenuri Party said. Lee is the ruling party’s floor leader.

But Rep. Park said Monday there had been “some agreement” on a possible parliamentary probe into former President Lee Myung-bak.

The main opposition party has advocated a parliamentary investigation into President Lee for reportedly having wasted public funds on fruitless investments in energy development projects abroad, under his so-called “resource diplomacy” policy. Lee is also alleged to have massively increased the public debt through his four rivers restoration project.

Saenuri Party lawmakers have opposed such plans. Critics of the governing party say any National Assembly investigation into President Lee would be opposed by the Saenuri Party, as Lee had been elected as their candidate in 2007. A probe would also trouble current Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan because he served as Knowledge Economy Minister under Lee.

Floor leaders of the main parties will meet Tuesday, although it remains uncertain if they will discuss reforms to the pension scheme for public officials or possible parliamentary probes into the Lee administration

The budget bill is expected to take center stage in parliamentary debates this month in accordance with the National Assembly Act, which mandates that the budget bill be forwarded to a plenary session by Dec. 1.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)