The National Assembly on Monday approved the details of a parliamentary probe into alleged irregularities in past governments' overseas resource development projects, although rival parties had yet to agree on the selection of witnesses.

During a plenary session, the parties passed a proposal for the investigation, which aims to look into allegations that past administrations spent tens of billions of dollars on various natural resource development projects overseas with few results.

Under the proposal, a preliminary investigation will take place from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6, after which the National Assembly will receive relevant briefings from government offices from Feb. 9-27, carry out field inspections in March, and then hold parliamentary hearings.

The investigation formally began Dec. 29 for a 100-day run and can be extended by up to 25 days.

In demanding the probe, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) intended to target only the 2008-2013 administration of then President Lee Myung-bak, affiliated with the ruling Saenuri Party, but it later accepted the ruling party's demand to extend the investigation to NPAD-affiliated former governments as well.

A key issue yet to be resolved is the question of who will be called in to testify during the hearings.

The opposition party has demanded the selection of five key witnesses, including former President Lee and the current deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Choi Kyung-hwan. Choi served in Lee's Cabinet when he was in office.

Amid opposition from the ruling party, the two sides agreed last week to postpone a decision on the issue until after the field inspections.

Also during the plenary session, the parties passed a bill calling for government compensation for the families of victims and survivors of April's ferry sinking that left more than 300 people dead or missing. Most of the victims were high school students on a field trip to the southern resort island of Jeju.

The bill also calls for government scholarships for students who survived the disaster.

Meanwhile, a controversial anti-corruption bill that passed through a parliamentary subcommittee last week will be prioritized during February's extraordinary session, officials from both parties said.

The so-called Kim Young-ran Law calls for punishing public officials who are caught taking money or valuables worth more than 1 million won ($912) even if they were not in exchange for favors.

Kim, who first proposed the legislation in August 2012, is a former Supreme Court justice and a former head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

The bill is intended to tighten loopholes in existing anti-corruption rules that punish public officials only when they receive bribes in connection with their work.

The bill has stirred up a heated debate about whether the law makes civil servants reluctant about performing their duties because of the fear of punishment. (Yonhap)