"Emergency General Meeting Attendance Requires Schedule Adjustment"
The introductory meeting between the Policy Committee Chairs of the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party has been postponed due to the fallout from the breakdown of bipartisan negotiations on the supplementary budget.
The meeting was scheduled to take place on the morning of July 4 in the Democratic Party's floor leader's conference room at the National Assembly in Yeouido, with Democratic Party Policy Committee Chair Jin Sungjun and Senior Vice Chair Lee Jeongmoon, as well as People Power Party Policy Committee Chair Kim Jeongjae and Senior Deputy Floor Leader for Policy Kim Eunhye in attendance. However, it was postponed at the request of the People Power Party.
Chair Jin stated, "I spoke with Chair Kim a short while ago, and he explained that, as the review of the supplementary budget bill that continued until early this morning failed to reach a final agreement, he had to attend an emergency general meeting of People Power Party lawmakers, making it unavoidable to reschedule." He added, "Given the circumstances, I agreed to the postponement."
He continued, "It seems this is a repercussion of the failure to smoothly conclude the supplementary budget review," and added, "We will discuss and set a new date for the meeting."
Previously, the ruling and opposition parties had been discussing the supplementary budget bill in the Budget Adjustment Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, but negotiations broke down on the morning of July 4. Moon Jinseok, Senior Deputy Floor Leader for Operations of the Democratic Party, explained, "There is a local matching ratio for the cost of consumer coupons. The Democratic Party's position is to set the ratio at 80% from the central government and 20% from local governments. However, the People Power Party expressed a desire to lower that cost in exchange for implementing their own policy projects, and it was on this point that negotiations stalled."
The Democratic Party is expected to pass the supplementary budget bill on its own at the plenary session scheduled for 2 p.m. that day. Kim Byungki, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the Supreme Council meeting, "We will pass the supplementary budget bill at today's plenary session, which will serve as a priming pump for the recovery of the people's livelihoods and the economy," and added, "There is still time before the afternoon plenary session, so I urge the People Power Party to reflect and make a decision."
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