Controversial DP-led budget bill vote postposed until Dec. 10

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Controversial DP-led budget bill vote postposed until Dec. 10

Published: 02 Dec. 2024, 17:03 Updated: 02 Dec. 2024, 17:42

SEO JI-EUN
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Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik bangs the gavel during a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Monday decided to postpone a vote on a controversial downsized 2025 budget bill unilaterally passed by the Democratic Party (DP) last week, urging both rival parties to finalize the budget through negotiations by Dec. 10, the final day of the regular parliamentary session.

The proposed budget bill was slashed by 4.1 trillion won ($3.1 billion) from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s original 677.4 trillion won.

“At present, I believe passing the budget bill would not provide hope to the public,” Woo said during a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Monday. He urged lawmakers to prioritize creating a budget that "stabilizes livelihoods and supports vulnerable groups," which he said was as important as meeting the legal deadline.

Under parliamentary law, the National Assembly Speaker has the authority to submit or table budget and impeachment proposals for a vote.

The DP, holding a majority in the National Assembly, pushed through the reduced budget bill last Friday during a meeting of the Parliamentary Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. The bill slashed all special activity expenses for investigative agencies, including 67.8 billion won for the prosecution and 8.2 billion won for the presidential office's secretariat and national security office, as well as halved the government’s 4.8 trillion won reserve fund.

People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho and lawmakers protest outside the National Assembly's main chamber in western Seoul on Monday, condemning the Democratic Party's 2025 budget cuts claiming the reductions are designed to shield DP leader Lee Jae-myung. [NEWS1]

The president's People Power Party (PPP) opposed the cuts and demanded the bill’s withdrawal, accusing the DP of leveraging the budget for political purposes. With neither side reaching an agreement by Monday’s legal deadline, Woo decided to postpone a vote.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok condemned the DP’s unilateral action during a government briefing earlier on Monday, warning of economic risks.

“The world is in a state of silent warfare, yet the opposition party is holding the budget hostage for political strife, refusing to provide our businesses with the critical ammunition they need,” Choi said. “The DP is pushing forward an ill-conceived reduced budget in the midst of an economic crisis, with intensifying global challenges such as deepening protectionism under the new U.S. administration and supply chain instability."

Choi expressed concerns that the DP's actions could harm Korea’s fiscal credibility and international credit ratings.

“[The unilateral cuts] reduce our ability to respond to domestic and global challenges, amplifying uncertainty and eroding trust in our fiscal management capabilities,” Choi said. “History provides numerous examples of how policy uncertainty during budget processes has negatively impacted national credit ratings,” he added.

The government also criticized cuts to funding for innovation and industrial competitiveness, including reductions for future growth sectors such as semiconductors, biotechnology and nuclear energy.

DP floor leader Park Chan-dae dismissed claims that the reductions would harm public services during a press conference on Sunday.

“Cutting special activity expenses for the presidential office and prosecution will not paralyze state affairs, nor will it hurt the public,” Park said.

He also rejected accusations from the PPP that the DP was shielding its leader, Lee Jae-myung, who faces several trials, calling the claims “groundless.”

Adding to the legislative impasse, the DP presented impeachment motions against Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chair Choe Jae-hae and three senior prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, including its chief Lee Chang-soo.

This marks the first time an impeachment motion against the head of the BAI has been raised in the National Assembly. The DP accuses Choe of refusing to submit documents related to a 2022 audit of Yoon’s office relocation, a key campaign pledge. The prosecutors are accused of failing to indict First Lady Kim Keon Hee over allegations of stock price manipulation.

The impeachment motions are set to be voted on during a plenary session on Wednesday.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]