There are exactly 30 days to go before Koreans head to the polls for the local elections... and today is also the deadline for the National Assembly to process the resignations for lawmakers running for local office.
But with parliament at a standstill,... it remains to be seen whether rival parties will be able to reach an agreement to hold a plenary session today to accept the resignations.
For more, we connect to our political correspondent Kim Min-ji.
Min-ji, we hear floor leaders of rival parties met this morning in an attempt to reach a compromise?
That's right, Ji-yoon.
But despite... the meeting between the floor leaders of the country's four negotiating parties and the National Assembly Speaker.... no agreement was reached to normalize parliament.
We've had these meetings every week... but for April and May... there have been more arguments than achievements.
But with today being the last day to accept the resignations of the four lawmakers running in the local elections.... in order to hold by-elections in the vacant districts... alongside the local elections in June -- there had been hopes that there would be some positive developments.
If their resignations are not processed today, the by-elections will pushed back to April 2019.
The National Assembly Speaker has hinted that he may convene a plenary session this afternoon -- and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea... and the liberal Party for Democracy and Peace and Justice Party have said they would attend.
But the conservative Liberty Korea Party and Bareun Mirae Party remain extremely reluctant... citing the lack of movement on their proposal to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the recent opinion rigging scandal.
Lawmakers from the main opposition party are blocking the entrance to the main National Assembly hall to prevent their other parties from unilaterally convening a plenary session to accept the resignations.
In order to go ahead,... support from a majority of lawmakers present is needed... which adds up to 147 seats.
The three parties that have said will attend, together, along with independent lawmakers,... make 149.
We'll have to see if rival parties reach some sort of agreement between now and this afternoon in regards to convening a full parliament session.
Well keep us updated on that. Hopefully we will have some positive developments... after this protracted standstill in the National Assembly. While we have you on the line,... Minji... we are also hearing the ruling party and government had a meeting this morning for measures aimed at creating more jobs in the private sector?
Yes.
The government is seeking to expand the number of private sector jobs... through improving the quality of jobs in sectors with high potential.... and through improved support for start-ups.
For starters, the government will offer financial support of up to 94-thousand U.S. dollars for young people starting social venture companies.
Social venture companies refer t
