The ruling People Power Party has called on the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) to apologize for unilaterally passing its downsized budget bill for 2025.

The ruling camp’s chief policymaker, Kim Sang-hoon, made the demand Friday during a meeting of the party’s emergency leadership committee in response to the DP’s call for a supplementary budget.

The party’s chief spokesperson, Shin Dong-uk, reiterated the stance when he spoke to reporters after the meeting, saying the DP must first apologize for forcing the 2025 budget motion through the parliament. 

Shin added that there is a need to consider the real motive behind DP chief Lee Jae-myung’s offer to drop his party’s insistence on cash handouts for the entire population if the government and the ruling party refuse to draw up a supplementary budget for that reason.

Shin then said he hopes Lee’s proposal is not a ploy to change the tide of the current political landscape.