Budget Review Also Being So-Called Passed Over? The Ruling and Opposition Parties Unable to Even Form a So-Called Committee

Closing Budget Session Held on the 18th... but No Review Committee Formed
Only 5 out of 17 Standing Committees Confirmed... Concerns Over Inadequate Review

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The August temporary National Assembly session began on the 18th. It is essentially a 'settlement session' to review whether the budget allocated last year was used appropriately. According to the National Assembly Act, the settlement review must be completed before the regular session in September.

However, it has been revealed that most standing committees have neither agreed on the settlement review schedule nor properly formed subcommittees.

According to the National Assembly on the 18th, only 5 out of 17 standing committees have finalized their Budget and Accounts Subcommittees. These are the Education Committee, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, National Defense Committee, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, and Women and Family Committee. Eleven standing committees, including the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts which finalizes the settlement report, have not even formed subcommittees for preliminary review.

Previously, the Democratic Party of Korea set a principle to comply with the National Assembly Act for a 'working National Assembly.' The election of the Speaker and the organization of the Assembly also followed this principle. The United Future Party declared that they would "scrutinize the settlement carefully." With only two weeks remaining, the settlement review should begin immediately, but in reality, the review bodies have not been properly established, and the Assembly has just opened its doors.

The delay in forming subcommittees is widely analyzed as an extension of the power struggle between the ruling and opposition parties. The United Future Party claims that the Democratic Party is being obstinate about forming subcommittees. Since the floor leaders of both parties agreed that "the processing of agenda items within the bill subcommittees shall be based on consensus," once subcommittees are formed, it would be harder for the Democratic Party to push through with their majority.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party points out that the United Future Party's demand to form both the key bill subcommittees and the Budget and Accounts Subcommittee simultaneously is problematic. A National Assembly official said, "Since the opposition party has conceded all standing committee chairmanships to the ruling party, they are strongly motivated to block bill processing through subcommittees," adding, "From the ruling party's perspective, they are unlikely to give up the subcommittees they have traditionally held."

The problem is that without forming subcommittees, it is difficult to thoroughly review the settlement. Recently, real estate-related bills were processed directly in the plenary session without subcommittee review, which drew criticism for being a mere formality. The settlement report is far more voluminous than the real estate-related bills.

With about two weeks left in the settlement session, if the formation of subcommittees continues to be delayed, the review is likely to be inadequate, contrary to the declarations of both parties. If the settlement is not processed before the regular session, a distorted situation may recur where next year's budget and last year's settlement are handled simultaneously at the end of the year. A National Assembly official said, "During the last two years of the 20th National Assembly, the settlement bill was approved just before the budget bill was processed, which is not a normal situation," and added, "We need to see if the 21st National Assembly will repeat this from the start."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.