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SEOUL, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- South Korean politicians agreed Monday to scrap a budget for lawmakers' extra legislative activities amid controversies regarding its disputed use. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the major opposition Liberty Korea Party reached a consensus on getting rid of the controversial budget.
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"The two parties agreed to scrap the special activity funds," said DPK floor leader Hong Young-pyo at a three-party meeting on Monday, Yonhap reported.
Kim Sung-tae, LKP floor leader, also said, "It's a great start to get rid of the unfair and authoritative side of Korean society by scraping the special activity funds."
Approximately $5.2 million (6 billion won) has been allocated to lawmakers annually to support activities for legislative committees, networking and managing the National Assembly Secretariat.
The fund, considered an extra budget to support legislative activities, has been widely abused by lawmakers as they are not required to submit receipts to the state. A local lawmaker was hit hard when he used part of the funds to support his child's overseas studies.
The civic group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy filed a suit against the National Assembly Secretariat in 2015 for opening the use of special activity funds. The National Assembly Secretariat refused to offer the budget use but was ordered to provide the details as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the group.
