Lee Jae-myung "Increase Renewable Energy and Caregiving Expenses"... Ruling and Opposition Parties' 'Full Budget Battle'

Lee Predicts Restoration of Caregiving Costs and Renewable Energy Budget
"Caregiving Cost Coverage... Wasn't It Yoon's Presidential Pledge?"
Budget Subcommittee, Opposition-Led Sharp Cuts in Controversial Budgets

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that the government will restore the budget for the pilot project on 'nursing hospital caregiving fees,' which had been completely cut, and will also promote the inclusion of caregiving fees in health insurance coverage. He also signaled an increase in the budget related to renewable energy, forecasting that the ongoing clashes between the ruling and opposition parties over contentious budget items during the National Assembly's budget review process will intensify further.

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 20th, Lee Jae-myung stated, "Last month, caregiving fees recorded the largest increase since related statistics began to be compiled," adding, "Given this situation, tragic incidents such as caregiving bankruptcy, caregiving unemployment, and even caregiving-related murders have occurred." He emphasized, "Now, the state must step in to resolve the issue of caregiving fees that are burdening the people."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He said, "We will restore the budget for the nursing hospital caregiving fees pilot project, which the government had completely cut, and refine the related policies to promptly report to the public," adding, "The inclusion of nursing hospital caregiving fees in insurance coverage was also a pledge made by President Yoon Seok-yeol. We should no longer repeat the discrepancy between words and actions and hope that the government will consider the people's suffering more deeply to alleviate their pain."

Lee also announced an increase in the budget related to 'renewable energy.' He said, "Countries around the world are accelerating their steps to expand renewable energy," and warned, "Ignoring this era of transition and blindly cutting related budgets, leading to the 'Galapagosization' of renewable energy, could threaten our very survival."

He continued, "The Democratic Party will restore the renewable energy budget to at least last year's level and work on establishing systems to revitalize related industries," adding, "The ruling party should also stop pursuing regressive energy policies and cooperate in opening the door to transition growth. Infrastructure investment is especially necessary in difficult times."

Opposition, Budget Cuts Based on Seat Count...Frozen Budget Politics

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Budget Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, reviewing the next year's government budget of 656.9 trillion won, has entered its second week. Since the Budget Subcommittee began last week, 10 out of 17 standing committees have completed their budget reviews. So far, 9.1 trillion won has been added and about 410 billion won cut, resulting in a net increase of approximately 8.7 trillion won compared to the government's original proposal.

However, since most of the budget proposals have been processed almost solely by the opposition party, which holds the majority of seats, difficulties are expected during the Budget Subcommittee discussions. For example, on the 15th, the Democratic Party unilaterally approved an increase of 85.7 billion won for the Saemangeum-Jeonju highway construction budget at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's plenary meeting, while cutting about half (6.1 billion won) of the 12.3 billion won design budget for the Seoul-Yangpyeong highway construction.

Additionally, on the 9th, the Administrative Safety Committee, led by the opposition, approved an increase of 700 billion won for local currency (local love gift certificates) budgets. The Legislation and Judiciary Committee has yet to reach consensus between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the special activity expenses of investigative agencies such as the Ministry of Justice, Board of Audit and Inspection, and prosecution. In the case of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee, budget reviews for the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Broadcasting and Communications Commission have been completely halted.

Meanwhile, the Budget Subcommittee plans to begin reviewing budget increases as soon as it completes the cuts review this week. Due to the austerity budget policy this year, many budgets were cut from the government's initial proposal, drawing attention to the items proposed for increase. While cuts can be led by the Democratic Party, which controls the National Assembly by seat count, increases require government approval, so conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties are expected to become even more intense during the upcoming budget review process.

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