Inevitable Worst Ruling and Opposition Confrontation in National Assembly... Budget and Bills 'No End in Sight'

President Yoon: "I've never heard of conditions on the policy speech in constitutional history"
Opposition shocked by prosecution's search and seizure the day before the policy speech

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Baek Kyunghwan and Naju Seok] President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed displeasure on the 24th over the opposition party's condition of accepting a special prosecutor investigation into the Daejang-dong case as a prerequisite for attending the policy speech, saying, "I have never heard of attaching conditions to a policy speech in constitutional history." Concerns are growing that the worst confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties could bring the situation to a 'zero hour' as the National Assembly's audit concludes and the budget and bill review season begins.

On his way to the Yongsan Government Complex that day, President Yoon told reporters, "The president's right to speak at the National Assembly is guaranteed by the Constitution, and the policy speech upon submission of the budget bill is stipulated by the National Assembly Act."

President Yoon's remarks are interpreted as meaning that he will not link the opposition party's demands with the legally guaranteed policy speech. It implies that the Yoon administration will not dilute the government's will to recover the people's livelihood economy by attaching conditions to various national agenda items.

Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea demanded an apology for the 'remarks controversy' that arose during President Yoon's U.S. visit and a statement on the 'Daejang-dong special prosecutor' as conditions for attending the president's budget policy speech scheduled for the 25th.

By rejecting the possibility of accepting the opposition's demands before the policy speech, the likelihood of difficulties in budget and bill reviews after the audit has increased. Refusing the budget policy speech is interpreted as a refusal to cooperate with the government budget review.

The opposition is further shocked by the simultaneous investigations into election funds and the previous administration by the prosecution for the first time in 20 years. The Democratic Party sees the arrests of former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook and former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee over the West Sea civil servant killing incident, and Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, on charges of election fund receipt, as targeting former President Moon Jae-in and party leader Lee Jae-myung. Moreover, the opposition is outraged that the prosecution attempted another raid on the Democratic Research Institute within the party related to Kim Yong, a close aide to Lee, just one day before President Yoon's policy speech. The opposition openly mentions boycotting the policy speech.

The ruling and opposition parties are already predicting a major clash in this year's regular National Assembly session. The Democratic Party opposed budget cuts to representative projects from the Moon Jae-in administration, such as local currency and senior citizen jobs, promising budget restoration, while the government and ruling party insisted on sound fiscal management. The situation is similar in bill reviews. The opposition opposes tax reforms such as corporate tax cuts, calling them 'tax cuts for the rich,' and publicly stated they cannot accept the government organization act due to issues like the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

With such a clear difference in positions between the ruling and opposition parties and the front expanding to the opposition presidential candidate's election fund issue, the room for negotiation between the two sides appears to be narrowing further.

A senior Democratic Party lawmaker said, "Since they (the ruling party) are pressing hard, we have no choice but to confront them head-on."

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