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Finance minister pledges liquidity boost as political upheaval threatens capital

Published: 09 Dec. 2024, 17:11 Updated: 09 Dec. 2024, 19:33

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok heads to the National Assembly Speaker's Office to meet with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik. [YONHAP]

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok pledged to come up with a measure to provide liquidity and attract foreign capital within this month on Monday.

Choi made the remarks while he urged the National Assembly to expedite the finalization of next year’s budget amid a legislative impasse caused by the fallout from last week’s botched martial law declaration.

The minister was at the parliament building to attend a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.

"To maintain external credibility and ensure economic stability, it is essential to promptly finalize the budget through bipartisan agreement," Choi told reporters after the meeting. "I requested the Assembly speaker to demonstrate strong leadership in breaking the deadlock in negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties."

Discussions on the 2025 budget proposal have largely stalled following President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law last Tuesday, which was overturned by the National Assembly just hours later.

The crisis has also disrupted other parts of the government's legislative agenda, including reforms to the capital gains tax and the lifting of the 52-hour workweek cap for the chip industry.

Last month, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) railroaded a downsized budget bill through the parliamentary budget committee, aiming to pass it during a plenary session. Speaker Woo, however, had put the plan on hold, calling on rival parties to find a compromise.

Since the martial law debacle, budget discussions have completely stopped. The DP is now pushing to pass its version of the budget, which slashes 4.1 trillion won ($2.9 billion) from the Yoon administration's original 677.4 trillion, in another plenary session scheduled for Tuesday.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP), meanwhile, is insisting on keeping the government's original proposal.

On Sunday, the DP proposed an additional cut of 700 billion won, primarily targeting salaries for officials at the presidential office.

Updated, Dec. 9: Recast headline, lede to focus on liquidity measure pledge.

BY KAYA SELBY, YONHAP [[email protected]]