Lee Jae-myung "Additional Disaster Relief Payments" vs Kim Boo-kyum "Will Money Come Out If You Dig Into Your Pocket?" Clash

Kim Bu-gyeom "No Immediate Fiscal Capacity" Despite Opposition
Lee Jae-myung Repeatedly Pressures "National Debt Is Not a Major Obstacle"

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 2nd. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum have clashed head-on over the plan to provide additional nationwide disaster relief funds. Although Prime Minister Kim publicly expressed opposition to Lee's plan for additional disaster relief payments, Lee repeatedly showed his willingness to support it, signaling that conflicts between the party and the government are intensifying.

On the 3rd, Prime Minister Kim made clear his opposition to Lee's plan for additional disaster relief payments in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' stating, "There is no financial capacity at the moment."

Kim said, "This year's budget will be fully executed in two months. There is no more capacity left. Next year's budget is currently under review in the National Assembly, so unless the Assembly discusses it, I don't see how it can be done," adding, "The urgent matter now is how to help the 2.5 to 3 million small business owners and self-employed people who have suffered losses for over a year and a half and cannot be assisted under the Loss Compensation Act."

Regarding the supplementary budget (추경), Kim also stated, "While reviewing next year's budget, I don't think there will be another supplementary budget for this year," and "The National Assembly will not create a new budget." He added, "It's not a situation where you can just dig into this pocket or that pocket and find money."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is speaking at the Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Despite Prime Minister Kim's opposition, candidate Lee repeatedly emphasized the necessity of additional disaster relief payments and applied pressure. Lee argues that the scale of disaster relief payments, at about 1.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is insufficient compared to other countries.

At the first meeting of the party's Central Election Committee held that day, Lee said, "We must take care of small business owners directly affected by COVID-19 and the citizens broadly and indirectly harmed," urging the party and the floor leadership to "actively pursue the issue of additional disaster relief payments that can revitalize the economy."

Following Lee's remarks, some speculate that conflicts between the party and government over control of state affairs are becoming more pronounced. Seemingly aware of Prime Minister Kim's opposition, Lee pointed out, "South Korea has the highest household debt ratio in the world," and said, "It is not because the people are lazy, but because of a policy environment with low public transfer income and household support."

He continued, "South Korea is in an abnormal state with a high household debt ratio and the lowest national debt ratio in the world," emphasizing, "I am not suggesting we increase debt recklessly, but it is necessary to recognize that the national debt ratio is not a major obstacle."

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