The National Assembly missed the deadline for next year's budget bill on Friday, as widely expected, with the protracted standoff between rival parties continuing following the ruling party-led parliament's ratification of the free trade deal with the U.S. late last month.

South Korean law obliges the unicameral parliament to pass the annual budget bill by Dec. 2 to allow 30 days of preparation for the bill's implementation. Rival parties, however, have failed to meet the cut-off date every year except in 2002, when the presidential election was held in late December.

After the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) effectively railroaded the long-pending trade bill on Nov. 22, the Special Committee on the Budget and Accounts has been stalled because lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) have boycotted budget review sessions over the past week.

On Thursday, members of the GNP and minor conservative Liberty Forward Party tried to review pending bills in a sub-budget panel, but it ended without progress as some DP lawmakers stepped in to block their move to proceed with the legislative process.

Rep. Chang Yoon-seok, who leads the sub-panel on behalf of the GNP, urged the DP legislators to come back to the budget deliberation, but opposition lawmakers turned down his call.

The government has submitted its budget proposal for next year, seeking to increase its spending by 5.5 percent to 326.1 trillion won (US$272.7 billion) from this year's 309.1 trillion won. (Yonhap News)