野 "Let's Properly Review the Budget from the Start" vs 政 "It's Unconstitutional"... Clash Over Expanding Parliamentary Review at Each Budget Stage

Ministry of Economy and Finance: "Exercising National Assembly's influence from the early budget formulation stage exceeds constitutional limits"
Opposition: "Not interference with budget authority but an effort to strengthen review functions"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The government and opposition parties clashed over the expansion of the National Assembly's budget review authority. When the Special Committee on Political Reform in the National Assembly considered measures to expand budget review authority, the government expressed opposition, citing concerns about potential infringement on budget formulation rights. Since National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and the opposition have expressed their intention to reestablish the National Assembly’s budget review function, which had become nominal, through amendments to the National Assembly Act and the National Finance Act, there are concerns that the confrontation will intensify.

At the public hearing on “Strengthening the National Assembly’s Budget Review Function” held by the Special Committee on Political Reform on the 15th, Im Gi-geun, Budget General Review Officer at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said regarding the National Assembly’s step-by-step consultation with the government on the budget, “If the National Assembly intervenes and exerts influence from the early stages of budget formulation, it is highly likely to result in exceeding the framework stipulated by the current Constitution.” He warned that the expansion of the National Assembly’s review authority could be used as a pretext to infringe on the government’s budget formulation rights, which could be unconstitutional. The Constitution grants the National Assembly the authority to review and approve the budget, while the government holds the right to formulate the budget.

At the same hearing, Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu, who proposed the amendment to the National Assembly Act aimed at strengthening budget review, rebutted, “The amendment is not about strengthening the National Assembly’s authority by interfering with the government’s budget formulation rights, but rather focuses on ways to enhance the National Assembly’s budget review function.” He explained that the emphasis is on strengthening the National Assembly’s review rights, not infringing on the government’s budget formulation rights.

The core of the ongoing discussion in the National Assembly about expanding budget review authority is to enable the Assembly to play a role in issues such as the government’s overall fiscal volume and sector-specific budgets. Jung Chang-su, director of the Nara Salim Research Institute, pointed out, “Regarding the strategic allocation of fiscal resources, the government establishes fiscal operation plans and confirms mid- to long-term strategies through the Fiscal Strategy Meeting, but the National Assembly lacks an institutional framework to effectively review these.” At the public hearing, it was also pointed out that the National Assembly’s budget review focuses microscopically on budgets without reviewing the overall volume, highlighting problems with bottom-up budgeting and discussing ways to strengthen top-down review procedures. It was emphasized that improvements are needed to address fundamental issues such as the scale of the budget or the proportion of defense or welfare spending within the budget, rather than just examining individual project units.

Kim Kwang-mook, visiting professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration, told this outlet, “The reason why the current method of reviewing detailed projects is inadequate is that even if you try to revise these projects, their defensive logic is thorough, and the National Assembly cannot match the bureaucrats’ expertise.” He explained, “In advanced countries, budget reviews are conducted by determining sector-specific resource allocations.”

The Special Committee on Political Reform is reviewing a bill that requires the government to report to the National Assembly at each stage of budget formulation and listen to its opinions to strengthen budget review. The amendment to the National Assembly Act proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu includes a provision for the Budget and Accounts Committee to receive reports on the government’s overall budget volume and limits every March, then send the review results to the government by resolution of the plenary session, so that the government can discuss them along with its proposal at the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting chaired by the president. On June 1, Speaker Kim Jin-pyo also proposed an amendment to the National Finance Act requiring the Minister of Economy and Finance to report sector-specific resource allocation plans to the National Assembly’s Budget and Accounts Committee by April 30 every year.

Although there are differences in the bills and timing between Maeng’s and Kim’s proposals, both are commonly aimed at establishing institutional mechanisms that allow the government to reflect the National Assembly’s opinions from the stage of reviewing the overall fiscal volume. Through this, it is expected that the budget review, which has focused on detailed project budgets, can move beyond bottom-up review to a more integrated approach.

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