[Column] The Ruling Party That Rendered the Ruling Coalition Agreement Useless

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Less than a week after the ruling party and government announced the second supplementary budget (supplementary budget) plan, the Democratic Party of Korea held a party meeting and announced that it would revise the party-government agreement. This move came as fierce fairness controversies arose over the party-government decision to limit the nationwide disaster relief payments to the bottom 80% of income earners. Eventually, Ando Geol, the 2nd Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, had to personally explain the supplementary budget plan at the meeting.

Park Wanju, chairman of the Democratic Party’s Policy Committee, recently stated, "The method of distributing the 5th disaster relief fund should be discussed in the National Assembly’s standing committee and finalized with the executive branch’s approval; there is no reason to bring it back to the high-level party-government council." By denying the party-government agreement, he effectively rendered it meaningless. Twelve lawmakers spoke and engaged in intense debate, but no conclusion was reached. The repeated argument was that the payments should be adjusted to be distributed to all citizens. Regarding the cashback system, he said, "If the usage scope is not expanded, it means the government is ignoring the Speaker of the National Assembly and the party." This undermines the government’s intention to boost consumption among small business owners, self-employed individuals, and local markets. There is no sign of concern for people’s livelihoods, only an apparent focus on winning votes.

The Democratic Party emphasizes that it is common for government proposals to be revised during National Assembly discussions. However, the “National Assembly discussions” they refer to presuppose bipartisan agreement. It does not mean revising according to the will of the ruling party, which holds 180 seats. Typically, supplementary budgets are increased or decreased through bipartisan agreement in the National Assembly’s standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. Ultimately, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum repeatedly appealed in his policy speech that the disaster relief payment target should remain at 80% due to financial reasons.

If the Democratic Party overturns the party-government agreement as easily as flipping a hotteok (Korean pancake), the framework of party-government consultation becomes meaningless. If the broad framework is already set, it is only natural to proceed with detailed adjustments despite controversies. Minimizing opposition and expediting the supplementary budget is the responsibility of the ruling party with a large majority.

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