CLASH OVER CORPORATE TAX CUT INTENSIFIES

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Rival parties have bought some time by extending the deadline for the next year's budget bill to the 15th, but they're still finding it difficult to narrow down their differences when it comes to reaching an agreement. The biggest clash is still in corporate tax cuts. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo clashed with Democratic party Chairman Lee Jae-myung, and even President Yoon urged bipartisan cooperation, stressing the importance of passing pending bills including cutting corporate tax rates.

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PM Han Duck-soo has met with DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung to seek the opposition party's cooperation on the budget bill. After a friendly small talk, the two squared off over the corporate tax rate.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(Chair, Democratic Party) : "If you want to cut corporate tax, you should do it for small and mid-sized firms that struggle to survive, not for conglomerates."

[Soundbite] Han Duck-soo(Prime minister) : "Many countries are lowering their corporate taxes to stimulate investment and attract overseas businesses that create jobs."

The government and the ruling party insist on lowering the maximum rate of the corporate tax from the current 25 percent to 22 percent. They say it's needed to prevent domestic companies from relocating overseas and to attract overseas capital. They also say it's unfair that only a small minority enjoys all the benefits.

[Soundbite] Joo Ho-young(Floor Leader, People Power Party) : "60-70% of minor shareholders will benefit from it. We cannot agree with calls for cutting taxes for people while overlooking this fact."

President Yoon is urging bipartisan cooperation, which he says is needed to increase corporate investment and jobs, and boost the private sector.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myoung(Vice Pres. Spokesperson) : "The OECD's average corporate tax rate is 23.2%. In S. Korea, it's 27.5%."

The DP says if the maximum corporate tax rate is cut, only the top 0.01 percent of corporations will benefit, because if tax credits are also taken into account, the actual amount of paid taxes is significantly smaller. However, the opposition party agrees with the government that the corporate tax should be cut for small and medium-sized firms that generate less than 500 million won in revenue. The DP says it has devised its own plan on lowering income taxes for low-income earners and tax deductions on monthly rents instead of providing tax breaks to conglomerates. The party says if no agreement is reached on the matter, it will process the bill on its own.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "If they insist on cutting taxes for the ultra rich and impede the bills on improving people's livelihoods, we can make no more concessions."

Bipartisan clashes are intensifying, with rival parties refusing to make concessions and rejecting each other's opinions.