内容摘要：The 20th National Assembly officially kicked off its first regular session Thursday, but suffered an

The 20th National Assembly officially kicked off its first regular session Thursday, but suffered an immediate roadblock, as the ruling Saenuri Party members boycotted the general meeting, demanding the speaker resign over his allegedly pro-opposition remarks on controversial issues.

Rival parties were inches away from finally approving the 11 trillion won ($9.8 billion) budget plan, but once again clashed over the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile battery and the corruption scandal of a top presidential aide.

At the center of the latest clash was Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, who rekindled the disputes over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and the feud-ridden senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Woo Byung-woo in his opening speech.

“Being the parliamentary speaker, I plan to speak out today on behalf of the people,” Chung started off.

Lawmakers gather for a group photo after the opening ceremony of the 20th National Assembly on Thursday afternoon. The seats of the parliamentary speaker, the ruling Saenuri Party‘s chairman and committee chiefs remain vacant. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)He then referred to presidential aide Woo who, despite the escalating criticism and the ongoing prosecutorial probe on his corruption allegations, has been refusing to step down.

“High-ranking public servants, especially Cheong Wa Dae’s chief position on civil affairs, are subject to strict moral standards and hold significant influence over the prosecution,” Chung said, urging for Woo’s resignation.

The speaker also advocated the introduction of an independent investigation organization to dig into the corruption charges of ranking government officials.

He then moved on to the THAAD agenda, blaming the government’s lack of strategic judgment and communication in the process.

“Regardless of whether THAAD was indeed indispensable, there has been no communication whatsoever on the issue,” Chung said.

He argued that the government seems to have overlooked the negative consequences that the US armament may cause on the peninsula’s neighboring countries. Beijing has repeatedly expressed through official channels its strong resistance against the far-reaching defense system.

Vexed by the parliamentary speaker’s speech, lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party left the general meeting hall in protest and gathered in an urgent party meeting.

“Unless the speaker offers an appropriate apology and takes due follow-up measures, the Saenuri shall hereby boycott all parliamentary schedules,” said floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk.

The Saenuri whip blasted upon the speaker for violating his obligation to maintain political neutrality. Chung is currently defected from The Minjoo Party of Korea, due to his parliamentary position.

Rep. Cho Won-jin argued that Chung’s words were enough to call for impeachment.

The plenary session, if processed as planned, was expected to pass the 11 trillion won supplementary budget bill, barely making it in time for the government to execute the extra budget within the year.

The final version involved an increase in the school facility improvement funds and a decrease in foreign exchange bonds and state-run bank investments, marking an overall drop of 105.4 billion won.

The compromise final draft, which made it past the special parliamentary committee on budget and accounts to reach the general meeting, was agreed in a last-minute negotiation late on Wednesday.

Reps. Joo Kwang-deok, Kim Tae-nyeon and Kim Dong-cheol, respectively speaking for the ruling Saenuri Party, The Minjoo Party of Korea and the People’s Party, jointly announced on Thursday morning that they had agreed to pass the revised budget bill.

Parties cut 465.4 billion won off the spending plans, including 200 billion won from foreign exchange stabilization funds and another 127.3 billion from the state-run Korea Development Bank investment funds.

An extra 360 billion won was injected in other sectors, such as 200 billion won on improving school facilities, 80 billion won in medical care assistance and 27.2 billion for supporting the disabled and the elderly.

But the Nuri Curriculum, the state-backed child care program which the ruling party claimed should be paid for by individual provincial governments, was excluded from the extra budget benefit.

By Bae Hyun-jung(tellme@heraldcorp.com)