Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash at Budget Subcommittee Two Weeks Before Budget Deadline
On the 15th, with just over two weeks remaining until the deadline for passing next year's budget, the ruling and opposition parties went into a full-blown showdown ahead of the launch of the budget subcommittee of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, clashing over the largest-ever budget proposal of 820.9 trillion won and the creation of a 162.3 trillion won Future Response Fund. The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts will launch its budget subcommittee on the 16th. The subcommittee reviews the government's budget proposal by major project and determines actual increases and cuts, and the substantive processing of next year's 820.9 trillion won budget will take place there.
The main opposition People Power Party presented three key directions for the subcommittee's review on the 13th. The core elements are concentrated cuts to 100 flagship problem projects, a full reduction of the Future Response Fund and restoration of 30.5 trillion won in local allocation tax, and channeling the saved funds into improving firefighters' treatment and youth and public safety budgets. The party plans to cut more than 27 trillion won from the main budget while increasing spending on youth, public safety, livelihoods, and jobs by about 11.5 trillion won.
The ruling Democratic Party, meanwhile, maintains that the total of 820.9 trillion won should be kept intact even if individual projects see increases or cuts. It argues that budgets the People Power Party has targeted for cuts — including about 8.2 billion won in special activity funds for the presidential office and 4.2 billion won for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials — are essential spending that reflects the unique nature of those institutions, and that they should be retained as originally proposed. It also aims to secure passage of the 162.3 trillion won Future Response Fund, which would be backed by excess tax revenue from semiconductors.
"The Future Response Fund is a safety net to prepare for response measures and reduced tax revenue," Democratic Party Rep. Jung Tae-ho, the ruling party's floor coordinator on the budget committee, explained in a phone call with Yonhap News. "It combines active fiscal management with securing fiscal soundness," he said.
