The National Assembly passed the 11 trillion won (US$9.92 billion) supplementary budget on Friday after an overnight protest and boycott by the ruling Saenuri Party over the speaker’s controversial remarks.

Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and Saenuri floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk agreed after hours of confrontation to prioritize the passage of the budget bill over a telephone conversation. Vice speaker Park Joo-sun was chosen to preside over the session in place of Chung upon the Saenuri’s request.

Chung had prompted Saenuri lawmakers to lodge a protest and walk out of the first plenary session of the 20th Assembly after he commented in his opening speech on senior presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo and the disputed deployment of advanced US antimissile system.

The ruling party slammed the speaker for violating neutrality as he criticized Woo’s refusal to resign despite undergoing a corruption probe, and the way the decision to install Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was made. Former member of The Minjoo Party of Korea, Chung is currently formally unassociated with the party in accordance with the Assembly rules.

After a night of confrontation at Chung’s office, the Saenuri lawmakers continued to demand for Chung’s apology and a promise against a recurrence, or a resignation.

Chung, for his part, has defended his remarks as speaking on behalf of the people and offered instead to issue an apology for causing delays in the parliamentary passage of 11 trillion-won supplementary budget. The Saenuri Party refused Chung’s offer as of the afternoon.

The passage of the extra budget had been crucial amid faltering exports and slowing domestic demand.

The extra bill, initially scheduled to be approved by Aug. 12, was delayed for the third time as the rival parties locked horns over the details. The Assembly is also set to start reviewing next year’s budget submitted by the government on Friday.

The final version of the extra budget bill placed a hike in the school facility improvement funds and a cut in foreign exchange bonds and state-run bank investments, marking an overall drop of 105.4 billion won.

The National Assembly Budget Office had warned that if the supplementary budget is not implemented within the third quarter, it would lead to some 3,000 job losses and a 0.02 percentage point drop in economic growth rate.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee on culture, sports and tourism on Friday adopted a confirmation report concluding that culture minister nomine Cho Yoon-sun is unfit for the job, in a session boycotted by the ruling Saenuri Party members. The Saenuri Party members had also refused to attend Cho’s hearing held on Wednesday over a separate scuffle regarding the extra budget bill.

Cheong Wa Dae said earlier in the day that it will push ahead with the appointment of Cho as the new culture minister, along with new agriculture minister nominee Kim Jae-soo. A parliamentary report upon a hearing is not legally binding.

The opposition has questioned Cho’s ethical level, pointing to what they claimed was a dubious accumulation of personal wealth over the years.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)