Yeo "Sympathy for the 4th Supplementary Budget, but" ... Differences in Details, Difficult Passage in the National Assembly Expected

People Power Party Opposes Full National Bond Issuance and Differential Payments to Self-Employed
Justice Party: "Universal Payment for All Citizens Still Valid"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The 7 trillion won-scale 4th supplementary budget (supplementary budget) agreed upon by the ruling party, the government, and the Blue House is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly as early as this week. While the opposition parties agree on the processing of the supplementary budget, they have expressed concerns about the supplementary budget plan prepared by the ruling party, government, and Blue House. With the ruling party setting the goal of 'payment before Chuseok,' a tense tug-of-war is expected during the upcoming review process over funding sources and payment targets.

The core of this supplementary budget, which is the fourth to be formulated this year, is 'selective payment' and 'full issuance of government bonds.'

While the first emergency disaster relief fund was paid to all citizens on May 1, this time, support will be focused on groups severely affected by the resurgence of COVID-19 and administrative orders banning gatherings. This is influenced by the fact that the entire budget will be raised through government bond issuance, effectively 'borrowing to fund the supplementary budget.' Since resources are limited, support will be concentrated on the groups that truly need it.

The opposition parties, including the People Power Party and the Justice Party, agree on the formulation and rapid execution of the supplementary budget but have unanimously opposed this 4th supplementary budget plan prepared by the ruling party, government, and Blue House.

The points of opposition differ. The conservative opposition welcomes the 'tailored support' rather than nationwide support but criticizes the funding method of issuing government bonds in full. Lee Jong-bae, Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, pointed out, "Covering the payment resources entirely through government bond issuance is tantamount to admitting irresponsibility in national fiscal management."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The People Power Party argues that unused or unnecessary budgets from previously allocated funds should be reorganized and secured as resources for the 4th supplementary budget. Park Soo-young, a member of the People Power Party and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, said on YTN Radio on the 7th, "We have already issued government bonds amounting to 37.5 trillion won through the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd supplementary budgets. There is the main budget and a supplementary budget amounting to 59 trillion won. It is right to reduce unspent funds to pay disaster relief funds. We should not borrow money from future generations."

They also clearly opposed 'differential payments' of disaster relief funds to small business owners based on the extent of sales decline. Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the People Power Party, emphasized, "It is difficult to achieve fairness in payments by setting criteria based on fragmentary factors such as sales decline," and added, "We will carefully examine whether it is excessively stingy." It is expected that during the National Assembly review process, disputes over who will receive how much and the payment criteria will be inevitable.

On the other hand, the Justice Party strongly criticized the failure to provide disaster relief funds to all citizens. Kim Jong-chul, senior spokesperson, argued, "Universal payment to all citizens is desirable for the social solidarity aspect of disaster relief funds, the necessity of rapid payment, and to avoid unnecessary conflicts during the selection process." He added, "That argument is still valid. The Justice Party will do its best to ensure that a proper 2nd disaster relief fund is paid to the people," clearly indicating they will not back down.

Considering the number of seats, the Democratic Party of Korea can pass the 4th supplementary budget plan alone, but bypassing the opposition parties is burdensome. They are in a position where they must persuade the opposition parties. A National Assembly official said, "Both the ruling and opposition parties have formed a consensus on the overall framework such as the formulation itself and the timing of processing, but there are differences in details," adding, "The variable is how much physical time will be required to narrow these differences."

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