Yoon Emphasizes 'Principle' Even in Budget Proposal... Presidential Office Says "Promise to the People"

- Presidential Office: "Budget must also be managed according to principles to promote national tasks"
- Yoon mentions 'principles' and says "Apologize to the people"... Burden on Presidential Office, government, and ruling party amid economic crisis

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Seok-yeol has for the first time raised the issue of 'principle' in the handling of next year's budget bill. The presidential office explained that the budget, which was established in connection with the Yoon administration's national agenda, reflects the judgment that it is a promise to the people. It is also influenced by the fact that he was praised for maintaining a consistent governance philosophy based on principles during the Cargo Solidarity general strike. However, there is also considerable pressure as the government and ruling party have failed to process the budget bill on time amid the ongoing economic crisis.

According to the presidential office on the 20th, President Yoon and his aides expressed concern over the delay in the budget bill during the presidential chief secretary (Daesubi) meeting the day before and reaffirmed their commitment to reviewing and promoting the national agenda by the end of the year. A senior presidential office official elaborated, "The promotion of the national agenda is a promise to the people, and the budget must also be operated according to principles to promote the national agenda. This has been our consistent stance."

In particular, during the subsequent weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, President Yoon said, "In a situation where a global economic downturn is expected next year, the importance of next year's budget is greater than ever to revive the economy and protect vulnerable groups, but the delay in its processing is regrettable to the people," adding, "The government must do its duty to the people and do its best to process next year's budget while adhering to principles until the end."

This is the first time President Yoon has mentioned 'principle' regarding the National Assembly's budget bill processing situation. Since the rule of law principle was effective in resolving the recent Cargo Solidarity general strike, this can be interpreted as shifting the responsibility for the delay in budget processing to the opposition party and expressing the will to keep promises on key national tasks such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Police Bureau and the Ministry of Justice's Personnel Information Management Unit.

There is also speculation that the corporate tax cut may be agreed upon somewhere between the government's proposal of a '3 percentage point' cut and the Speaker's mediation proposal of a '1 percentage point' cut, but the presidential office has not hidden its discomfort. Another senior presidential office official said, "Contrary to the opposition party's claim that the government and ruling party's proposal is a tax cut for the ultra-rich, it has a considerable impact on the livelihood economy."

The situation in the National Assembly has also not progressed. Speaker Kim Jin-pyo set the fourth deadline for negotiations on next year's budget bill as the 19th of this month, but no agreement was reached. Although some differences over the suspension of the financial investment income tax and the abolition of the combined basic pension for couples have been partially resolved, issues regarding corporate tax, the Police Bureau, and the Personnel Information Management Unit budget remain.

However, there is also pressure that the government and ruling party have failed to process the budget bill on time. This is why President Yoon expressed his regret to the public the day before. Within the ruling party, there is concern that the cause of the delay in budget processing may be attributed to the presidential office's 'principle.' Unlike the strike situation, this is a matter directly involving the opposition party, so it can be interpreted as the presidential office's basic stance on cooperation. A ruling party official confessed, "There is concern that if the budget bill is conceded, the opposition party's frame of obstruction may be repeated, but since the situation between the ruling and opposition parties can change depending on the presidential office's position, we have no choice but to watch the situation a little longer for now."

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