The National Assembly has failed to pass the annual budget bill within the legal deadline of Dec. 2 for the past 11 years. It seems certain that this year will be no exception.

Lawmakers belatedly began deliberations on the government budget proposal for 2014 on Tuesday, with the aim of approving it by Dec. 16. Many officials at the main political parties, however, seem skeptical that this target will be met, even raising the possibility of prolonged partisan strife delaying the passage of the budget beyond the end of the year.

In September, the administration worked out a 357.7 trillion won ($336.9 billion) budget proposal for next year, which is slightly larger than this year’s 342 trillion won, and submitted it to the Assembly.

Unless the spending plan is fixed before the new fiscal year begins on Jan. 1, the government will have to put an unprecedented provisional budget in place. In that case, the administration will be forced to suspend about 140 trillion won worth of discretionary spending as it is authorized only to carry out mandatory expenditures as stipulated by law. Much of the spending which could be suspended has been earmarked for job creation, infrastructure construction and a set of welfare programs including child care benefits.

The country simply cannot afford to endure what some commentators here describe as the Korean version of a fiscal shutdown, which would also make state borrowing through bond sales come to a partial halt.

Such scaled-back spending and restrictions on borrowing could hamper efforts to revive the economy, which has recently shown some signs of pulling out of a protracted slump. If coupled with other external risks, the delayed passage of the budget would have a further negative impact on the economy, making people’s livelihoods more difficult.

The main opposition Democratic Party has been moving to link the budgetary approval with concessions from President Park Geun-hye and her ruling Saenuri Party over its demand for an independent counsel to investigate state agencies’ alleged meddling in last year’s presidential election. In the eyes of the public, this stance just seems unreasonable and irresponsible. If the opposition continues to remain out of touch with voter sentiment, it will have to risk suffering further setbacks in the elections to come, including local polls set for next June.

But this cannot excuse the president and ruling party leaders from their responsibility for making every effort to have the budget bill passed. Giving some ground to the opposition in the prolonged partisan deadlock would not weaken, but help strengthen, their position in the long run.