President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged the National Assembly to process the budget and other pending bills, saying the country’s political arena is overwhelmed by “bad politics.”

“Bad politics that puts the interests of the parties and political wrangling above the people have impeded normal politics,” Moon said at his weekly meeting with top aides.

In an apparent barb aimed at the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Moon said that exploitation of the National Assembly Advancement Act to hinder parliamentary procedures was a cause for concern.

The act -- a revision in the National Assembly Act -- is designed to aid operations of the National Assembly, including prohibiting physical clashes among lawmakers. A large number of ruling and opposition lawmakers are currently under investigation over alleged violations of the act.

“Linking bills that are needed by the people to political issues -- turning them into bargaining chips -- should not happen,” Moon said, going on to refer to bills legislating stronger safety measures for children.

Saying that all bills are important to the people, Moon urged the parties to avoid linking uncontentious bills with issues over which the ruling and opposition blocs are at odds.

Moon went on to urge the National Assembly to process next year’s budget bill, saying that once again the parliament has failed to meet the deadline for approving the following year’s budget.

At the meeting, Moon also spoke about the ASEAN-ROK and Mekong-Korea summit conferences held in Busan last week, saying that the events brought the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Korea closer.

Citing agreements among the countries to deepen economic cooperation, Moon said the ASEAN bloc is Korea’s “friend and partner in shared prosperity.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)