Presidential office calls for 'timely' passage of extra budget bill

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday reiterated its calls for a "prompt, timely" passage of an extra budget bill that has stalled over partisan bickering over outlays.

"Timing is crucial for the extra budget this time, which is designed to address (the potential fallout from) the restructuring of major industries, and create jobs," presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told reporters. "(We) hope for a swift passage (of the extra budget bill)."

This photo, taken on April 14, 2016, shows presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk speaking during a press conference at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. (Yonhap)

On Tuesday, the ruling and opposition parties failed to put the extra budget bill, worth 11 trillion won ($9.83 billion), to a vote despite their earlier agreement for its passage.

They have been at loggerheads over the issue of allocating funds to support a free childcare program and South Korean firms that were forced earlier this year to shut down their factories in the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong amid cross-border tensions.

The rival parties plan to resume their negotiations over the budget plan on Wednesday. (Yonhap)