Seoul, Dec 1 (LatestNewsX) – The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) finally reached a provisional deal on Monday, agreeing to keep next year’s budget at the government’s original 728‑trillion‑won plan as the two sides pushed through last‑minute talks just a day before the National Assembly must pass the bill by law.
The two parties have long wrestled over key provisions in the 498‑billion‑US‑dollar package, from funding for local gift‑certificate schemes to policy funds, special expenditures for the presidential office, and education‑related taxes, Yonhap News Agency reported.
After a lengthy session, DP Deputy Floor Leader Moon Jin‑seog told reporters that the talks on cutting spending have been settled, with both sides agreeing the total cuts should be capped at roughly 4 trillion won.
He also mentioned that the parties recognize the need to raise money for essential items, including mandatory outlays, and that detailed adjustments will continue.
“At the moment the two camps appear to be converging on a deal,” another DP official said to Yonhap.
A key sticking point remains the corporate tax rate. The DP is pushing to reverse cuts enacted by the previous Yoon Suk‑Yeol administration, while the PPP opposes any increase, arguing it would burden firms.
The parties have also clashed over the PPP’s call for a parliamentary probe into the prosecution’s decision not to appeal a lower‑court ruling in a high‑profile real‑estate development in Seongnam, Gyeonggi‑do.
The case revolves around claims that poorly known asset‑management outfits, including Hwacheon Daeyu, earned huge profits from the 2015 Daejang‑dong project while President Lee Jae‑Myung was mayor.
“We will make sure the first budget of the Lee Jae‑Myung administration passes before the deadline,” DP leader Jung Chung‑rae declared at the party’s supreme council meeting earlier that day.
Meanwhile, the PPP has urged the DP to trim what it calls “populist spending,” demanding a cut to the 1.15 trillion‑won earmarked for local gift‑certificate programmes.
At its own supreme council meeting, Representative Kim Do‑eup slammed the DP’s push for a corporate tax hike, arguing it would hurt all businesses—including SMEs—at a time when they’re already “suffocating” under the triple threat of high exchange rates, inflation, and interest rates.
Floor leaders from both sides—DP’s Kim Byung‑kee and PPP’s Song Eon‑seog—met earlier that day at the National Assembly in a bid to narrow their differences.
Although the legal deadline for the budget is Dec 2, the Assembly has often missed it in the past because of partisan wrangling.
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