Seoul: The ruling and opposition parties have jointly decided to request the government to draft and submit a supplementary budget proposal to the National Assembly by the end of this month. This decision was made during a meeting led by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, with representatives from both sides in attendance.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Rep. Park Hyeung-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and Park Sung-joon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) confirmed the agreement. Park of the DP criticized the government for its perceived lack of urgency in preparing and advancing the extra budget. Both parties agreed to urge the government to finalize the supplementary budget within March to facilitate negotiations.
Despite this consensus, the meeting revealed unresolved differences concerning national pension reform. Additionally, the PPP dismissed the DP's suggestion to address the U.S. classification of South Korea as a "sensitive" country in an upcoming parliamentary session. The PPP contends that such matters should be initially handled by relevant standing committees, like the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently categorized South Korea in the lowest tier of its "sensitive and other designated countries list," a decision made under the previous Joe Biden administration in January.