Budget Subcommittee Stalemate Over 'Opposition's Unilateral Handling' Issue... Morning Delay (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Kwon Hyun-ji] On the 28th, the ruling and opposition parties continued their confrontation at the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee's Budget Adjustment Subcommittee (Budget Subcommittee) over the budget for the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Political Affairs Committee, which the opposition unilaterally processed on the 25th.

The Budget Subcommittee, which was scheduled to conduct reduction reviews on the budgets of the ministries under the jurisdiction of the Political Affairs Committee, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and the Steering Committee from 10 a.m. that day, was delayed for nearly an hour due to the absence of ruling party members.

People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yong-ho, during a parliamentary procedure speech that day, pointed out, "On the 25th, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Political Affairs Committee did not properly follow procedures according to the National Assembly Act in their standing committee meetings, so we decided to listen to and discuss how to proceed procedurally," adding, "As far as I know, there has been no change in the situation so far, so it is not appropriate to continue the review."

Ruling party whip Lee Cheol-gyu also said, "Although most standing committees narrowed differences and reached compromises despite disagreements, only the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Political Affairs Committee cut all of the government's key projects and approved increases of 5 to 6 trillion won for projects claimed by the opposition, then sent them to the Budget and Accounts Committee," adding, "Article 57 of the Constitution stipulates that the government's consent must be obtained for the establishment of new budget items and increases, and there is a debate on whether this is legally valid or invalid from a formal perspective." This means that adding new budget items or increasing the budget without government consent violates the Constitution.

Opposition whip Park Jung of the Democratic Party rebutted, saying there have been several precedents in the past, stating, "Such cases have occurred regardless of which side was the ruling party," and "The most important thing is that the standing committee discussions have already concluded. Reduction reviews must proceed."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Du-kwan also said, "The new government is trying to work, so would the National Assembly try to hold it back? We should interpret this as pointing out problematic parts," adding, "In the case of Yongsan Park, the entire budget was cut, but the budget was restored through an agreement between the two whips, and for the reduction of housing for sale, 1.1395 trillion won was cut, but since there were increases in other rental projects, there will likely be further discussions in the Budget and Accounts Committee."

Afterwards, ruling party lawmakers firmly insisted that reduction reviews should not continue without resolving this issue, while the opposition claimed there was no problem, failing to narrow their differences, leading to loud exchanges. Ultimately, the discussion stalled, and the Budget and Accounts Committee chairman from the opposition, Woo Won-sik, declared a recess saying "deliberation is needed," ending the morning session of the Budget Subcommittee.

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