(LEAD) National Assembly passes 2010 budget bill

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details)
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) on Thursday
railroaded the government's 2010 budget bill through parliament amid fierce
protests from lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The Lee Myung-bak government's budget bill for next year, totaling 292.8 trillion
won (US$252.6 billion), up 2.9 percent from this year's budget of 284.5 trillion,
was stubbornly opposed by the DP and liberal minor parties, which claimed that
excessive funding for Lee's key policy pledge to revamp the nation's four major
rivers would bring an environmental disaster and fiscal waste.
The budget bill passed the National Assembly's plenary session by 174 votes to
two with one abstention. Only lawmakers of the GNP and a conservative minor party
participated in the vote, while DP lawmakers shouted angry protest slogans around
Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-o's podium.
The ruling party controls 169 seats in the 299-member National Assembly compared
to 87 seats held by the DP.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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