Opposition might balk at budget passage

The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) made it known that it will not work with the ruling party during the plenary session Wednesday and Thursday to act on the budget plan for the new year unless its request for a substantial slash in the budget is accepted.

An emergency meeting of the party president and vice presidents Tuesday, presided over by Rep. Lee Hoi-Chang, agreed that the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) is yet to offer any counterproposal to the opposition's demand for budget cuts and that a parliamentary study of the budget would have to be postponed if the government party does not come to terms with the opposition on the proposed reduction by Thursday.

It, however, will work hard to deliberate the budget in the meantime, the party said.

The hard line taken by the GNP resulted partly from the slow-moving negotiations with the ruling party in adjusting numerical figures to reduce government spending, as the opposition sees fit; at the same time, observers view it as a roundabout but a strong warning to the MDP upon the installation of a new party leadership under party chairman Kim Joong-Kwon.

Kim Jung-Hoon jnghn@donga.com