Yoon presents lean budget but DP boycotts his speech

Politics

Published: 25 Oct. 2022, 17:31

Yoon presents lean budget but DP boycotts his speech

Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung, bottom row center, and other DP lawmakers boycott President Yoon Suk-yeol’s budget speech Tuesday at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk-yeol called for cooperation across party lines to cope with economic difficulties and North Korean threats in his first parliamentary budget speech Tuesday, which was boycotted by the Democratic Party (DP).

"In order to overcome the serious economic and security situations, the opposing parties can't go separate ways," Yoon told a half-empty parliament. "Cooperation in the National Assembly is desperately needed."

Yoon outlined the details of a 639 trillion won ($443 billion) budget proposal after DP lawmakers boycotted a day after prosecutors raided their party headquarters.

A complete boycott by a major party of the parliamentary budget speech is unprecedented.

Yoon's 2023 budget proposal was billed as a way for Korea to "support future growth."

He pointed to troubling global uncertainties including inflation, high interest rates, the strong dollar, and the volatility of financial markets.

"It is of utmost importance to soundly manage national finances and secure international credit ratings at a time of high interest rates worldwide and financial instability," said Yoon. "With the global trend of a weaponization of industries and resources and supply chain disruptions, cooperation with countries that share values has become more important than anything else."

He said his government will promote financial soundness "to enable a sustainable and virtuous cycle of economic growth" while pursuing "welfare for the underprivileged."

Yoon said his government will invest over 1 trillion won in the semiconductor industry, including for training professionals and expanding research and development. He also pledged support for exports by the nuclear power plant industry.

Another 5.3 trillion won will be spent on improving the three-axis missile defense system to counter North Korean threats, including on Hyunmoo missiles, F-35A fighters and Patriot missile defense systems.

Yoon noted that the national budget is being slashed for the first time in 13 years, saying that the previous administration's lax and politically-motivated spending lent to a yawning fiscal deficit. "This is the first time since 2010 that the budget has been reduced compared to the previous year," he said.

Yoon's proposed budget for 2023 is 6 percent below this year's 679.5 trillion won.

Lawmakers must work together to cope with security issues including the possibility of another North Korean nuclear test, he said.

"The reality of the security situation is also very serious," he said.

Yoon called North Korea's ballistic missile launches a "grave violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a direct challenge to the international community.

"Not only have they [North Korean leaders] publicly stated their intentions to preemptively use nuclear weapons," said Yoon, "but it has been determined that preparations for a seventh nuclear test have already been completed."

He pledged to "strengthen our deterrence against North Korea with overwhelming capabilities through the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation so that our people can lead their daily lives with peace of mind."

However, if the North decides to denuclearize and returns to dialogue, Yoon said that the South Korean government "will do everything within its power to provide political and economic support" through a so-called "audacious initiative" outlined in his inaugural address in May and Aug. 15 Liberation Day.

President Yoon Suk-yeol makes his first parliamentary budget speech Tuesday morning at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, which was boycotted by the rival Democratic Party (DP). [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

There were a total of 19 rounds of applause during the speech, which lasted just over 18 minutes, making it the shortest budget speech to date. The previous shortest was made by President Lee Myung-bak in 2008, and it was around 26 minutes.

This was Yoon's second address to the National Assembly. On May 16, he spoke on Covid-19 relief.

The deadline for passing the budget bill in the National Assembly is Dec. 2, or 30 days before the start of the new fiscal year.

The process looks rocky as the two main political parties are at loggerheads.

When Yoon arrived in the chamber around 10 a.m., People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, while DP lawmakers were notably absent.

Earlier Tuesday morning, DP floor leader Park Hong-keun told reporters that his party would sit out the speech, saying they couldn't participate at a time Yoon's administration was "suppressing" it.

The DP holds a parliamentary majority with 169 out of 300 seats.

The DP lawmakers held a silent protest in the halls outside the chamber as Yoon arrived, holding up placards condemning the Yoon government and calling for the president to apologize for "suppressing the opposing party" and "neglecting people's livelihoods."

They called on him to "apologize for insulting the National Assembly," referring to a hot mic incident last month when Yoon was caught using foul language at a fundraiser in New York, which the presidential office claimed was directed at the Korean parliament.

DP leaders did not attend a meeting Yoon held with the National Assembly speaker.

On Monday, prosecutors raided a think tank in the DP headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, as part of an investigation into allegations that Kim Yong, a longtime aide of DP chief Lee Jae-myung, accepted illegal political funds last year that may have been used for Lee's election campaign.

Lee has rejected the allegations.

The DP has demanded Yoon agree to an independent counsel probe.

They believe that the prosecution's investigation of figures involved in the Daejang-dong land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, is ultimately aimed at DP Chairman Lee, the party's defeated presidential candidate in the March 9 election.

The PPP denounced the DP's boycott of Yoon's budget speech.

"The president's speech today was not aimed at the DP, but rather an opportunity to reveal to the public next year's budget proposal," PPP spokesperson Yang Kum-hee said. "Is bulletproofing DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung from illegal political fund allegations worth abandoning the basic duties of a lawmaker?"

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]