South Korea's lawmakers finally agreed....this Saturday morning...on the government's budget plan for next year.
Totalling around 418 billion U.S. dollars,... it's down slightly from the government’s initial proposal but sharply up from 2018’s figure.
Our parliamentary correspondent Kim Min-ji reports.
The National Assembly passed the 2019 budget bill early Saturday -- six days after the legal deadline.

"Among the 212 present, 168 voted in favor and 29 against. 15 abstained. I pronounce that the revised budget bill has been passed."

However, it wasn't smooth sailing.
The vote took place with just the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party,... while lawmakers from three minor opposition parties carried on with their sit-in demonstrations or engaged in heated debates prior to the vote.
They had been demanding a commitment to revamp the country's electoral system -- where parliamentary seats are allocated based on the proportion of the vote won by each party -- but the idea was rejected by the two biggest parties.
The minor opposition bloc accused them of colluding to defend their vested rights over the public's wishes.

The 2019 spending plan that passed has been finalized at 469-point-6 trillion won,... or roughly 418 billion U.S. dollars,... about 825 million dollars less than what the government was asking for.
It's still an increase of about 9-point-5 percent on year -- the biggest hike in almost a decade.
There's been a cut in the budget allocated for welfare and job creation,... as well as inter-Korean projects.
Instead, the budget has been significantly increased for infrastructure,... and the allocations for energy, industrial development... and R&D also got a boost.

While experts agree on the need for the record budget in light of a slowing economy and weak job growth,... the budget itself won't have that much of an impact on people's everyday lives... and new strategies will be needed in the long-run.

"The government continues to implement policies that aren't sustainable and require a lot of taxation -- which will lower people's disposable income and hinder economic revitalization. In the job market, the government is creating temporary public sector jobs,... but what we need are measures for the private sector to invest and create jobs. For welfare, the focus should be on expanding the social safety net, rather than excessive government intervention."

While the government will be able to bankroll its policies for next year,... back in parliament, the task now is for parties mend their strained ties.
What's for sure is that the budget passage reaffirmed the domination of the two biggest parties in parliamentary affairs,... while showing the limitations of the minor opposition.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.