"Increase Disaster Relief Fund by 700 Billion More"... Hong Nam-ki's Veto on Additional Budget? (Summary)

Agricultural Workers, Cultural Sector, and Medical Professionals Demand Support... Watch on Ministry of Economy and Finance's Exercise of 'Veto on Budget Increase'

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Acting Leader of the Democratic Party Kim Tae-nyeon, and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Hong Nam-ki are attending a high-level party-government-civil cooperation meeting on measures to eradicate real estate speculation held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] It has been confirmed that the Democratic Party of Korea requested the government to increase the supplementary budget for the 4th disaster relief fund by 700 billion KRW to cover blind spots during the review process. Earlier, the National Assembly's standing committee approved a supplementary budget that increased the government's proposal by 3.3 trillion KRW and sent it to the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Special Committee, with the ruling party insisting that projects worth 700 billion KRW must be reflected.

According to the government and the National Assembly on the 19th, the Democratic Party selected about 20 projects as essential support targets, including △support for the cultural sector such as the exhibition industry △special employment types (SE-type) masks △direct support for affected farms such as flower farms and rural experience villages △COVID-19 medical support personnel allowances △electricity bill support for small business owners, and included them in the increase request.

A government official stated, "The ruling party is requesting support for farmers, the cultural sector, and medical personnel," effectively acknowledging the request for an increase.

The opposition party, the People Power Party, has declared it will cut the entire budget for short-term job projects, but there is consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on support allowances for farmers, nurses, and other medical staff. Therefore, only the decision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which has the authority to increase the budget, remains.

The government is reviewing the types of support funds and the possibility of additional support. Among the five types of support funds, the ‘business crisis general industry (2 million KRW payment)’ category is expected to include not only travel and performance industries previously announced by the government but also air passenger and bus transportation industries, and small duty-free shops. Support for farms is expected to be provided only in cases of direct damage. Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, appeared at the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee meeting the day before and said, "The government has supported sectors requiring damage assistance such as flower farms and rural tourism jobs, and this is reflected in the supplementary budget. However, supporting farmers simply because they are farmers is considered inappropriate."

However, it is uncertain whether the supplementary budget size will increase even if the increase request is accepted. The opposition intends to cut the budget related to jobs, and the government, feeling the burden of national debt, may reduce budgets in other areas.

A government official said, "In the prolonged COVID-19 situation, if the veto on the increase is exercised, the supplementary budget must pass as originally proposed, but the delay in payment is a significant burden," adding, "We need to review the welfare blind spots again and check whether the budget is manageable and executable."

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