National Assembly likely to convene plenary session Monday for PM's budget speech

The National Assembly is expected to convene a plenary session in the coming hours for Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon to give a speech on the need for the government's extra budget. Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang called last week on the main political parties to reach an deal on the June parliamentary agenda by today -- saying deliberations can no longer be delayed.The government submitted the 5-point-7 billion U.S. dollar extra budget bill to the National Assembly two months ago,... but it has remained untouched during the prolonged standstill at the assembly. While the door is still open for negotiations,... the main opposition Liberty Korea Party has a schedule outside of Seoul today. The party is also sharply against the extra budget,... claiming the government and ruling Democratic Party will use it to win over voters ahead of next year's general elections. For now, it's likely the budget speech will be held without the main opposition.