NIS Budget Cut down by 8 Billion Won

The ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement at the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly for the reduction of the budget of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) by 8 billion won. This is the first time that a budget of NIS was reduced from the original request.

By the agreement on the NIS budget, which has been the last stumbling block, the national budget for the next year is expected to be approved by the National Assembly at the plenary session on 21st. The net reduction of the budget will be about 500 billion won.

The floor leaders of the New Millennium Democratic Party (NMDP), which offered the 4 billion won reduction of the main budget and 5 billion won worth of subsidies to other units, and the Grand National Party (GNP), which insisted on the 10 billion reduction of the NIS main budget, opposed to each other at first but finally reached the agreement on the reduction of 8 billion won from the main budget.

In terms of the revision of the National Assembly Hearing law, the two parties agreed to hold a hearing by the Political Reformation Special Committee within January next year to review whether the inclusion of the NIS Director and Prosecutors Director is unconstitutional and to deliberate the bill in the extraordinary session of the National Assembly in February next year.

The two parties failed to reach agreement on the National Health Insurance law but agreed to resume the discussion in the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly on 21st. NMDP offered `one year postponement of the combined budget system and the introduction of 150 won tobacco tax while GNP insisted on `5 year postponement.` NMDP gave up the revision of the Fund Management Law that allow the stock investment of the Pension Funds by the opposition of GNP.

Rep. Lee Sang-Soo, floor leader of NMDP, said, "The Health Insurance Law may be passed through vote in the Health and Welfare Committee." but Rep. Lee Jae-Oh, the floor leader of GNP, insisted that "the budget combination must be postponed since the effect of the combined budget will take affect from 2006."

The ruling and opposition parties agreed to extend the activities of the National Assembly Political Reformation Committee until the end of February next year.

Yeon-Wook Jung jyw11@donga.com