[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s three major political parties have agreed to put the government’s extra budget plan to a vote on Aug. 22.
The agreement was reached at a meeting that National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun hosted with the floor leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party, the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea and the minor opposition People’s Party on Aug. 12.
The ruling and opposition parties also agreed to open a 15-day extraordinary parliamentary session from Tuesday next week, so as to deliberate on the extra budget proposal and other outstanding legislative issues.
Late last month, the government submitted its extra budget plan, worth 11 trillion won (US$9.60 billion), which it says is crucial to handle the potential fallout from the ongoing restructuring of major industries, create jobs and spur growth.
Saenuri floor leader Chung Jin-suk, Minjoo floor chief Woo Sang-ho and People’s Party’s Park Jie-won also agreed to hold parliamentary hearings from Aug. 23-25 to look into the causes of the financial woes facing the shipbuilding and shipping industries.
The floor leaders also agreed to discuss the issue of reforming the prosecution at the parliamentary committee on legislation. The prosecution has recently been under intense public criticism for a corruption scandal involving a dismissed prosecutor, who has been indicted on charges of suspicious stock transactions and bribery allegations.
