The Korea Times
Rival parties agreed to pass an extra budget bill aimed at coping with the economic fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East at a parliamentary plenary session later Friday. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea(DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) reached the agreement to keep the size of the supplementary budget at 26.2 trillion won ($17.7 billion), unchanged from the government's initial proposal. The parties agreed to include in the budget the government's plan to distribute cash assistance to the bottom 70 percent of income earners designed to help ease the burden from rising oil prices. If the bill is passed, about 35.8 million people will receive between 100,000 won and 600,000 won per person, with payments differentiated by income level and region. The DPK and the PPP also agreed to allocate an additional 200 billion won to ensure the stable supply of naphtha, a key feedstock widely used in the petrochemical and other industries. The extra budget aims to ease the burden of rising oil prices and protect small businesses and vulnerable households from the econ
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