Ruling Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil (L) and the party's floor leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung (R) attend the DP's executive meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will push for another extra budget to support pandemic-hit small businesses, the party's floor leader said Tuesday.
Rep. Yun Ho-jung said the DP plans to swiftly draft a second supplementary budget for this year after the March 9 presidential election and will even consider using an emergency order if necessary.
His remarks came a day after the National Assembly passed a 16.9 trillion-won ($14.2 billion) extra budget bill, which was up 2.9 trillion won from the government's 14-trillion won proposal.
"We will restart the full recovery of people's daily lives through the extra budget," Yun said. "But this is not enough."
The DP earlier sought for an extra budget of 35 trillion won, while the main opposition People Power Party called for 50 trillion won amid worries from the government over fiscal soundness.
The two parties eventually decided to settle for a 16.9 trillion won after a monthlong tug-of-war, citing the urgent needs of small merchants.
"We will provide more compensation right after our presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung gets elected," he said. "We will not only beef up support for at-home treatment system, but will increase workforce, enhance supply of self-test kits and relax social distancing rules." (Yonhap)
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