"Local Election Vote Counting"... Yoon's Supplementary Budget Delay Sparks Ruling and Opposition 'Blame Game'

Second Supplementary Budget Promised to Be 'Expedited' Delayed Until After Yoon's Inauguration
Transition Team Criticized for Current Government's Passive Attitude
Democratic Party Criticizes, Saying "Considering Pros and Cons of Local Elections"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a greeting at the 1st plenary meeting of the National Unity Committee held in the main conference room of the Presidential Transition Committee set up at the Korea Institute of Finance in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 1st. / Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

The Presidential Transition Committee has announced its plan to submit a supplementary budget bill for loss compensation for self-employed and small business owners to the National Assembly after the new government takes office, sparking increased blame-shifting between the ruling and opposition parties. The transition committee claims that the delay in drafting the supplementary budget was due to the current government's passive attitude, while the Democratic Party of Korea criticizes it as a strategic delay calculated for the June local elections.

The transition committee has set a policy to submit the second supplementary budget to the National Assembly after May 10, following the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, and has begun full-scale work on drafting the budget contents and scale according to that schedule. The main details related to the supplementary budget are being led by the transition committee, with only simple administrative support expected from the Moon Jae-in administration's fiscal authorities.

Earlier, when President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol met at the Blue House on the 28th of last month, there was an expectation that discussions would accelerate as they broadly agreed on the necessity of drafting the supplementary budget. However, the drafting and submission in April ultimately did not materialize. On the 31st of last month, Choo Kyung-ho, the planning and coordination subcommittee secretary of the transition committee, reversed the initial policy of requesting the current government to draft the supplementary budget by stating, "The direction, content, scale, and submission timing of the supplementary budget will be entirely decided and carried out by the Yoon government."

This sudden change in stance was interpreted as unexpected since President-elect Yoon and the transition committee had previously stated their intention to expedite the drafting of the supplementary budget to compensate small business owners and self-employed individuals affected by the spread of COVID-19. In fact, on the 22nd of last month, President-elect Yoon said at a transition committee secretariat meeting, "If a concrete program for loss compensation for small business owners and self-employed individuals is created, we might request the supplementary budget from the current government as soon as possible."

In the political sphere, voices emerged suggesting that the transition committee deliberately postponed the drafting timing to maximize the effect of the supplementary budget ahead of the June local elections. The explanation is that the second supplementary budget would be drafted and executed just before the June local elections after the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, creating a favorable election environment for the then-ruling People Power Party.

For the Yoon Suk-yeol government, which will face a situation of a minority government immediately after inauguration, winning the local elections is of utmost importance. Historically, the ruling party that wins the presidential election usually achieves a significant victory in the local elections held early in the term. However, positive expectations for President-elect Yoon's governance are not as high compared to previous administrations, and the aftermath of his narrow victory by 0.73 percentage points has not yet fully healed, making it difficult to confidently predict a win. For the transition committee and the People Power Party, even a single favorable factor is precious.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Therefore, the Democratic Party continues its offensive regarding the delay in drafting the supplementary budget. Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged at the National Assembly Emergency Committee meeting the day before, "Is President-elect Yoon more concerned about the benefits of the supplementary budget in the local elections than the people suffering in the drought of COVID-19?" He added, "I hope the transition committee submits a realistic supplementary budget bill so that it can be reviewed in the April National Assembly and keeps the promise made to the people during the presidential election."

The transition committee and the People Power Party counter that the delay in the supplementary budget is due to the government's passive attitude. Shin Yong-hyun, spokesperson for the transition committee, said the day before, "We have a consistent policy to ensure sufficient loss compensation through the supplementary budget as soon as possible. However, due to the stance of the current government's fiscal authorities, it was decided that since it cannot be done within the current government, we will prepare as much as possible now and submit it immediately after the new government starts."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki strongly opposes drafting an additional supplementary budget during his term, and since drafting and submitting the supplementary budget in April would make it difficult for the transition committee to take the lead in decisions regarding scale and timing, it was decided to postpone it until after May. In fact, Minister Hong has recently urged the continued promotion of projects such as the Korean New Deal and has effectively opposed the transition committee's consideration of cutting New Deal project budgets to secure supplementary budget funds.

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