[2024 City Policy Speech] Ruling Party: "Next Year's Budget Focuses on Livelihood... Hope for Faithful Discussion Between Ruling and Opposition"

Park Jeong-ha, the chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, said on the 31st regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's policy speech, "I hope that the ruling and opposition parties can faithfully discuss next year's budget together to overcome the crisis ahead of us and to achieve a new leap forward for the Republic of Korea."

In a commentary on the same day, Chief Spokesperson Park introduced, "Next year's budget proposal is a 'sound budget' aimed at normalizing the national finances and a 'pro-people budget' that provides even stronger protection for the vulnerable." He added, "This budget proposal is composed of total expenditures of 656.9 trillion won, an increase of 2.8% compared to last year, marking the lowest growth rate since 2005."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering the policy speech on the 2024 budget proposal at the plenary session of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 31st. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Regarding the tone and direction of next year's budget, he emphasized, "Based on sound fiscal management, it goes beyond simply cutting expenditures to ensure that taxpayers' money is used efficiently and appropriately without waste by blocking wasteful factors." He explained, "Unnecessary or improper expenditures have been meticulously identified and adjusted, and the resources thus secured will be further focused on strengthening welfare for the socially vulnerable, securing future growth engines, and creating jobs, placing emphasis on the 'livelihood economy.'"

He continued, "The highest priority of welfare policy is placed on protecting the vulnerable, promising to provide even stronger support so that the state's assistance reaches every corner without omission. Additionally, the budget proposal has been faithfully prepared to more thoroughly guarantee the safety and convenience of the people in relation to the essential functions of the state, such as public safety, national defense, and administrative services."

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