RIVAL PARTIES STILL CLASH OVER BUDGET BILL

[Anchor Lead]

Lawmakers promised to pass next year's budget proposal, which has already been once extended, by the 15th, but rival political parties continue to lock horns over reaching an agreement. The main opposition democratic party warned they will pass their own budget bill if the ruling party does not take a step back, in which the People Power Party responded by calling it a reckless act.

[Pkg]

On Tuesday, lawmakers had only two days to pass the budget proposal by the December 15th deadline set by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. But rival parties continued to clash over it. The People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party's claim of cutting taxes for all people as hypocritical. The PPP argued that the DP's tax cuts account for just a fraction of the taxes raised during the Moon administration. The DP targeted President Yoon Suk-yeol who had asked for a lower corporate tax, the key sticking point in the budget plan. The opposition maintained that the president himself set the guideline for the ruling party, claiming it's clinging to his every word.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "President asked for the corporate tax bill approval within the Dec. extraordinary session. It showed his substandard awareness that regards parliament as his own legislative branch."

This contest of wills caused the negotiation between the two floor leaders overseen by the speaker to break down in less than an hour. When no agreement is reached, the DP plans to approve the budget plan with two trillion won cut from the government's original proposal.

[Soundbite] Park Hong-keun(Floor Leader, Democratic Party) : "The DP has been working hard to devise a reduced budget plan. We're almost there."

The PPP dares the DP to do what they want.

[Soundbite] Joo Ho-young(Floor Leader, People Power Party) : "The DP plans to do something that has never been done since the establishment of the gov't. Do you think people will just watch that happen?"

Rival parties remain far apart even after they revised the budget plan and relevant laws, with stark differences remaining on cutting the corporate tax rate.