The main opposition party could propose a meeting with President Park Geun-hye to seek a solution to the current parliamentary impasse over next year's government budget, a senior party official said Thursday.
   
The New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) declared a boycott of all parliamentary proceedings Wednesday after accusing the ruling Saenuri Party of backtracking on its agreement to draw on state coffers to expand free child care services for children between the ages of three and five.
   
The opposition party claimed the two sides agreed to earmark an additional 523 billion won (US$472 million) for the project, while the ruling party argued that the exact amount has yet to be decided.
   
The ruling party has long insisted that local education offices shoulder the cost.
   
"If we can't resolve it within the parliament, the next stage will be a meeting between the two parties' leaders, and if that doesn't work, there's no choice but to resolve it through a meeting with the president," the official told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
   
The meeting with Park could be proposed within the next one or two days, the official added. The National Assembly is obliged by law to pass the budget bill by Dec. 2.
  
"We do not want a breakdown," Moon Hee-sang, NPAD's interim chief, said during a party meeting. "We want dialogue and compromise."
  
Saenuri chief Kim Moo-sung urged the opposition party to normalize the parliament.
   
"Now isn't the time to stand out or engage in combative competition, political disputes and partisan politics, but a time to focus only on the public's livelihoods and the economy," he said during a ruling party meeting. (Yonhap)