The ruling Democratic Party (DP) unilaterally passed a 14 trillion-won (US$11.6 billion) extra budget bill aimed at supporting small businesses hit by COVID-19 curbs through the parliamentary budget committee in the wee hours of Saturday.
The passage drew angry reactions from the main opposition People's Power Party (PPP), which has called on the government to draft a far bigger spending plan.
The DP members of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts occupied the committee's meeting room Friday afternoon.
They convened a session at 2:08 a.m. Saturday and passed the government-proposed budget bill in four minutes.
The party controls 30 of the 50 seats on the special budget committee.
The DP plans to ask National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug to convene a parliamentary plenary session next Monday to pass the measure, DP floor leader Yun Ho-jung told reporters.
"We'll discuss ways to sharply expand the scope of eligible merchant applicants and increase the amount of the support so as to put forth a revised bill," Yun said.
The party seeks to increase the spending package to more than 17 trillion won.
"Any party that blocks the procedures for the bill, which so many people deperately want, will surely be judged by our people," Yun said.
The bill, if passed, will entitle some 3.2 million small merchants and self-employed people each to 3 million won in special aid. The redrafted bill would add 1 million-won allowances to about 1.4 million people each in certain professions that are highly exposed to virus risks.
The main opposition PPP slammed the DP for "snatching away" the bill.
"The late night session was nonexistent and therefore it is invalid," PPP whip Kim Gi-hyeon told Yonhap News.
Rep. Lee Jong-bae of the PPP, who heads the special budget committee, urged the committee members to take steps to make a decision on the budget bill by the legal procedures.
On Friday, President Moon Jae-in stepped up calls for swift approval of the bill, citing "desperate" hardship facing small merchants hit by the prolonged antivirus restrictions.
Moon's remarks came amid a tug-of-war between Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and political parties that demand bigger spending from the government.
The DP and the PPP have called for supplementary budgets totaling 35 trillion won and 50 trillion won, respectively. Hong has been opposing a large expansion of the extra budget, considering its impact on consumer prices and the state bond market.
The ruling party has intensified pressure on the PPP for the approval of the extra budget bill, threatening to pass it unilaterally next week in case they fail to reach an agreement by Monday.
Source: Yonhap News Agency