Keep the deadline

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Keep the deadline

Published: 25 Nov. 2014, 07:44

The National Assembly Advancement Law was enacted to stop the violence in the legislature and the railroading through of bills by the majority party. But the law has led to a critical malfunctioning of the legislative branch due to its requirement of 60 percent support - not a simple majority - to pass bills. The only exception is when lawmakers pass the government’s annual budget, which can still be passed with a majority. If legislators fail to pass it by the end of November, it is automatically submitted to the plenary session of the Assembly on Dec. 1 and the following day they cast final votes on the original or revised budget bill.

We have had high expectations for the new bill. The last year that the government’s budget bill was passed before the Dec. 2 deadline was 2002. Since then, the annual budget has always been passed at the last minute due to entanglements of political issues between the ruling and opposition parties.

Regrettably, though, the new law can hardly prove its merits this year due to the ruling Saenuri Party and opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s strong disagreements over next year’s budget, which centers around the Saenuri’s push for entrusting the funding for day care services for kids aged between three and five to municipal education offices. Another issue is its plan to raise cigarette prices. Meanwhile, the opposition is demanding corporate tax hikes and a thorough legislative probe of the Lee Myung-bak administration’s four-rivers restoration project, its possibly corrupt diplomacy to secure energy resources overseas and military procurements. While the ruling party insists on keeping the budget deadline this time, the opposition believes otherwise.

The Assembly must establish an example when it passes the New Year budget. Of course, sufficient discussions are required for both camps to resolve their differences over the scope of day care, tobacco and corporate taxes. But if they can’t reach a consensus, they must abide by the law. Second, political issues like a parliamentary investigation of a former administration must be separated from the passing of the budget.

The United States had to experience avoidable chaos - like the shutdown of the Federal government - in October last year due to the absence of a mandatory voting requirement for passing budget bills. Fortunately in Korea, the obligatory deadline goes into effect from this year. If the deadline is not kept in the first year, public distrust will deepen. The opposition may not be happy with the government’s budget for next year, but the responsibility will be borne by the ruling party. It must make the right choice now.

JoongAng Ilbo, Nov. 25, Page 34