새해 역대 최대 규모 예산안 558조 본회의 통과… 6년만에 시한 준수<br /><br />Turning our attention to South Korea's National Assembly.<br />Next year's budget proposal was passed by lawmakers late Wednesday.<br />The roughly 500 billion dollar bill was given the nod a matter of hours before the deadline,... making it the first time in six years the budget has been green-lit on time.<br />Our Choi Jeong-yoon reports.<br />The National Assembly passed the 2021 budget bill late Wednesday evening just a few hours before the legal deadline.<br />"Among the 287 lawmakers present, 249 voted in favor, 26 against and twelve abstained. I pronounce the revised budget bill for 2021 approved."<br />It's the first time in six years that the National Assembly has passed the budget on time.<br />The 2021 spending plan was finalized at 558 trillion won, some 500 billion U.S. dollars,...the biggest budget in South Korea's history.<br />This is about 1.9 billion dollars more than the government first proposed, marking the first time in eleven years that the budget was higher than the initial proposal.<br />Included in the revised bill, some 2-point-7 billion dollars for a third round of funds for small business owners and the self-employed who have been slammed by the resurgence of COVID-19.<br />The aim is to provide the relief funds before the Lunar New Year holiday in early February next year.<br />The revised bill also includes 814 million dollars to purchase COVID-19 vaccines... in order to secure vaccinations for 44-million people.<br />Around 247 million dollars will be channeled into expand care support, and extra 272 million dollars more for helping the country achieve the government's 2050 net zero carbon emissions targets.<br />Speaking at the session, the Prime Minister pledged to efficiently execute the budget in a responsible manner.<br />"Considering the danger posed by the resurgence of COVID-19, the government will protect the lives of the people as a matter of quarantine and the economy. We will also open a bright future for South Korea to become a leading nation."<br />President Moon Jae-in also later thanked the lawmakers,...saying the 2021 budget is necessary for the country to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.<br />"Now that the bill has passed, the government will be able to bankroll its policies next year.<br />The bipartisan effort to pass it on time is expected to help the country keep up the fight against COVID-19 and its impact, first by disbursing the third round of relief funds as soon as January.<br />Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News."<br />
