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| DPK floor leader Lee In-young answers a reporter's question in a news conference at the National Assembly, Sunday morning. Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
The country's ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) asked the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) to stand together to counter the ongoing trade friction with Japan, urging the LKP to pass an extra budget bill to cope with Tokyo's "discriminatory export curbs."
"We hope there wouldn't be, but if the LKP wants to see a further escalation of a parliamentary standoff, then I can say we have a wide range of options available. We need bipartisan support from the LKP in passing an extra budget bill to counter Japan's trade retaliation. Again, this isn't a partisan issue," DPK floor leader Lee In-young said in a news conference at the National Assembly, Sunday morning.
"The ruling party is still waiting for a response. The DPK is hoping to see a conclusion regarding the passage of the extra budget bill issue during a planned meeting Monday morning to be presided by National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang. If we see no results, then we will do what we can."
The DPK announced up to 300 billion won would be included in a supplementary budget to counter Japan's curbs on exports of three key materials crucial to fabricating memory chips and displays by speeding localization of their supply.
According to the DPK, about 33 percent of the suggested budget will be used to support South Korean materials and equipment producers to help them commercialize their products.
DPK floor leader Lee added the party is considering applying what is described as a "contingency plan" to defend South Korea from the Japanese trade measures. "All available policies, means and fiscal means are being reviewed thoroughly. The LKP remains unsupportive despite the deepening row. It just doesn't make any sense," Lee told reporters.
"The LKP is turning the extra budget issue into bitter and partisan conflicts. That's what they were saying. The only route to reaching a sincere negotiation and agreement is to pass the extra budget bill right away without any conditions."
Japan's recent export restrictions follow its frustration over what it sees as South Korea's failure to act in response to a ruling by Seoul's Supreme Court last October ordering Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. to compensate surviving South Korean wartime forced labor victims. Tokyo claims the issue of forced laborers was settled back in 1965 when the two countries established diplomatic relations.
Cheong Wa Dae urged Tokyo several times to withdraw the curbs by saying the continuation will worsen bilateral relations further. U.S. President Donald Trump said early Saturday (KST) he would step into the process to resolve the trade friction.
