The minor opposition Bareun Party decided to lift its parliamentary boycott and join a long-delayed review of bills on the extra budget and government reorganization Friday, a day after President Moon Jae-in's disputed pick for labor minister resigned.
"We will join the deliberations to exhaustively check if there would be a waste of taxpayers' money (under the extra budget bill)," Lee Hye-hoon, the party chief, said during a meeting with senior party officials.
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(Yonhap) |
The conservative party had boycotted all legislative sessions, demanding the president cancel the nominations for the labor and defense ministers -- Cho Dae-yop and Song Young-moo, respectively -- whom they called unfit due to a raft of alleged ethical lapses such as past drunk driving.
Despite its opposition, Moon pressed ahead Thursday with the appointment of Song, saying it cannot be further delayed to ensure national security amid North Korea's persistent nuclear and missile threats.
Still, it remains unclear whether the minor party would agree to the 11.2 trillion won ($9.8 billion) extra budget bill that Moon has pushed to bankroll his job creation drive.
The party, along with other opposition parties, has maintained that the bill could violate the National Finance Act, which stipulates an extra budget can be drawn up only during a war, natural disaster, mass unemployment or crucial changes in cross-border relations.
The ruling camp has regarded the current situation as posing high risks of mass unemployment. (Yonhap)
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