Populist pledges in full swing

The governing People Power Party (PPP) and majority opposition Democratic Party (DP) have kicked off a populist contest to spend more money for 2024. The PPP on Monday came up with a plan to increase the budget on “40 programs across five key areas,” including a half-price voucher for passengers to use ferries during national holidays like Chuseok or the Lunar New Year. The increased budget falls into the category of “helping people respond to the climate crisis pre-emptively.”

A repertoire of such novel splurges is endless. The PPP’s scheme includes hefty cash handouts to young interns who work for companies in areas other than their home region. The package also includes financial support for medical costs for knee surgery for the elderly and for expanding the insurance coverage of their dental implants to four teeth from two. The PPP says it aims to give more financial support to the older generation to help ease polarization.

The PPP also added the “1,000 won [77 cent] breakfast for college students” as per the strong recommendation by its leader Kim Gi-hyeon. The governing party plans to expand the scope of the beneficiaries and apply the system to all universities soon.

The majority DP went even further. It announced financial support for five areas directly related to people’s livelihoods, including a 30,000 won monthly pass for all types of public transport. Each standing committee is busy lifting the budget under the DP leadership. The party did restore the 140 billion won budget to build infrastructure in Saemangeun, which had been drastically cut by the conservative government. The DP also doubled the budget for vouchers for “regional products,” which was strongly backed by its leader Lee Jae-myung.

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration expects a 60 trillion won deficit in this year’s tax revenue. Despite such dismal prospects, the two parties are engrossed in an unprecedented splurge. Most of the programs are not urgent or go beyond the set limits. Populist budgets are blossoming with just less than five months left before the election in April.

More disappointing is the PPP’s attitude. In the face of the DP’s push for the splurge, the governing party went a step further. Under such circumstances, the conservative government’s touted “stingy budget for next year” will be futile. Earlier, President Yoon Suk Yeol promised to stop the practice of “buying votes with money” once and for all. We wonder how the government and the PPP could achieve the fiscal integrity the president repeatedly pledged to prop up.