National Assembly Defense Committee Faces Budget and Schedule Conflicts... Ultimately Disrupted

Ministry of National Defense R&D Budget Increase at an Impasse... Full Meeting to Be Held Tomorrow

The National Assembly National Defense Committee's plenary session was disrupted due to scheduling coordination issues stemming from disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties over next year's budget proposal. The meeting was scheduled to address next year's budget, the joint chiefs of staff chairman's confirmation request, the extension of troop dispatch consent, and amendments to the Military Personnel Act, but the ruling and opposition parties failed to reconcile their differences over the Ministry of National Defense's increased research and development (R&D) funding related to defense capability improvements by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Han Ki-ho, chairman of the National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, convened the meeting around 10 a.m. on the 8th without opposition members present, and Seong Il-jong, the People Power Party's secretary, made a procedural statement. Seong said, "There are several contentious issues between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the budget," adding, "We can exclude the budget from the previously agreed schedule and handle the rest in the plenary session."

Seong also said, "However, this morning, Kim Byung-joo, the Democratic Party's secretary, broke his promise by saying that if the budget agreement is not reached, the rest will not be agreed upon," calling it "very regrettable."

In response, Democratic Party members entered the meeting room during Seong's procedural statement and strongly protested, saying, "How can you hold a meeting without the opposition?" and "This is violence."

When Chairman Han said, "Didn't you say you would boycott today's meeting? Don't lie," Democratic Party secretary Kim Byung-joo rebutted, saying, "I never said that," and added, "I suggested that the schedule be negotiated between the ruling and opposition secretaries."

As harsh words were exchanged during the clash and the Democratic Party requested a recess, Chairman Han said, "We need to show the public how the Democratic Party is making a mess," and continued the meeting. Seong criticized in a procedural statement, "The opposition members were holding a meeting in the chairman's office, so shouldn't we wait for them?" and called it "the chairman's unilateral dictatorship."

Chairman Han explained, "Democratic Party secretary Kim Byung-joo came into my room and said they would boycott the meeting, so I convened the meeting and planned to recess and resume once the ruling and opposition agreed," and then declared a recess around 10:40 a.m. It was reported that until the previous day, the Democratic Party insisted on restoring the cut budget during the National Defense Committee's budget subcommittee, while the People Power Party showed reluctance. The National Defense Committee plans to reconvene the plenary session at 1 p.m. on the 9th without resuming the meeting on this day.

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