RIVAL PARTIES PREPARE FOR NEXT POLITICAL MOVE

[Anchor Lead]

The National Assembly is speeding up the review of an additional budget plan as the ruling Democratic Party gears up to work in earnest, and the opposition United Future Party ponders when to return to the parliament from the boycott.

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The Democratic Party is nearing its goal of passing the extra budget plan during the June extraordinary session. Its next objetive: forming a "working National Assembly." The ruling party plans to silence critics who say one party should not chair so many standing committees by showing how hard it works.

[Soundbite] KIM TAE-NYEON(FLOOR LEADER, DEMOCRATIC PARTY) : "There should be a system that ensure idle lawmakers and parties are phased out."

The liberal bloc held a general assembly to legislate a so-called "Working National Assembly Act" and plans to pass it during the July extraordinary session. The draft of the bill includes transferring the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's authority to review bills that were already approved by subcommittees, opening monthly extraordinary sessions, regularly holding general assemblies, standing committee and subcommittee meetings and posting a list of lawmakers who did not attend standing committee meetings on the National Assembly website the following day. The United Future Party is refusing to follow the parliamentary schedule and continues its boycott. The main opposition did not attend the additional budget review, and criticized the ruling party for allocating hundreds of billions of won to hire part-timers for government jobs. The UFP is engaging in political activities outside of standing committees, such as holding a special committee on low birthrate to criticize the government's ineffective real estate policy and gathering representatives with judiciary background to discuss the dismissal of Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae. The conservative party is also pondering how and when to return to the National Assembly.

[Soundbite] JOO HO-YOUNG(FLOOR LEADER, UNITED FUTURE PARTY) : "We are not rejecting the National Assembly and holding protests outside of parliament. We plan to tell the truth to the public and provide solutions from inside the National Assembly."

UFP floor leader Joo Ho-young compared the current parliament to the Sewol ferry disaster, saying that it was launched without being prepared for violation of general practice. In response, the ruling bloc and the Justice Party questioned whether the UFP has the right to bring up the tragedy.