Opposition's Focused Attack on 'Cabinet Reshuffle for General Election'... Will 'Budget Agreement' Fail?

Ruling and opposition parties continue standoff two days before 'budget bill processing'
Opposition: "Cabinet reshuffle for general election, distracted... unqualified"
Democrats warn of 'unilateral amendment' if no agreement reached

Although the National Assembly plenary session scheduled for the 20th, where the ruling and opposition parties agreed to process next year's budget bill, is just two days away, they have yet to narrow their differences over key issues. In particular, a series of confirmation hearings for the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's 'second-term cabinet' are scheduled this week, making a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties inevitable. The Democratic Party of Korea has even hinted at the unprecedented move of passing the budget bill unilaterally, suggesting that the year-end political climate will become even more frigid.

According to the National Assembly on the 18th, confirmation hearings for ministerial candidates will be held consecutively, starting with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the 18th, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the 19th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 20th, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 21st. The confirmation hearing for Kim Hong-il, the nominee for Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, which the opposition party is strongly opposing, was scheduled to open on the 27th, as decided that morning. In particular, the recently announced replacement of Moon Bang-gyu, Minister of Industry and Energy, by the presidential office is being evaluated as a cabinet reshuffle aimed at 'drafting for the general election' just three months after his appointment, intensifying criticism from the opposition.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The clashes surrounding the cabinet reshuffle are expected to negatively impact the budget bill's passage as well. Although the ruling and opposition parties agreed to process next year's budget bill at the plenary session scheduled for the 20th, its approval remains uncertain. This is because they have not been able to narrow their differences over contentious items amounting to 56.9 trillion won out of the total budget of 656.9 trillion won. The ruling and opposition parties are reportedly at odds over the government's and investigative agencies' special activity funds, research and development (R&D), and the Saemangeum project budgets. The Democratic Party demands a significant reduction in special activity funds to increase the R&D budget, but the People Power Party is standing firm on a 'sound fiscal' policy. In particular, the ruling party has stated that it cannot accept the net increase demands for so-called 'Lee Jae-myung-style budgets,' such as local love gift certificates.

Given this situation, concerns are also rising over the historically longest 'delayed processing.' The ruling party plans to set the 28th as the deadline for the plenary session to prevent a 'quasi-budget crisis' if the budget bill is not passed on the 20th, but the opposition is unlikely to agree to this plan. This is because the Democratic Party intends to push through the 'Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor' bill, the double special prosecutor law, and demands for a national audit at the plenary session on the 28th.

A Democratic Party leadership official said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, "Is it reasonable for the opposition to urge the ruling party to process the budget bill? If no agreement is reached within the schedule, the Democratic Party will have no choice but to pass the amendment it has prepared unilaterally." If the Democratic Party proceeds with the budget bill without agreement with the government and ruling party in the minority ruling situation, it will be the first time in constitutional history that the budget bill is passed by the opposition.

On the same day, the Democratic Party again criticized the government's 'general election-oriented cabinet reshuffle' and repeatedly held the government and ruling party responsible. At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in the morning, Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, referred to the successive cabinet reshuffles, saying, "Since the government's momentum is entirely focused on lining up the ruling party, drafting the cabinet, and turning it into a pro-Yoon factional party, the government is bound to drift." Regarding the budget, he urged, "If necessary, the government should invest in R&D even if it means cutting unnecessary budgets such as special activity funds for power agencies or travel expenses," and called for "an obsession with cuts that will harm South Korea's future to be abandoned immediately."

Floor leader Hong Ik-pyo said, "This week is the 'confirmation hearing season,' but it is quite painful to hold hearings with all the nominees being unqualified," and directly criticized, "There are various reasons for disqualification, including people with allegations of preferential treatment at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), plagiarism of theses, and even suspicions of involvement in the 'Park Geun-hye state affairs manipulation'." He added, "Meanwhile, President Yoon Seok-yeol announced the replacement of Minister Moon Bang-gyu despite pressing issues such as resolving supply chain instability," and criticized, "He should be held accountable for the dismissal that caused the failure of the Expo and the humiliating decline in national prestige."

Senior spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting, "There were many criticisms about the second-term cabinet confirmation hearings, especially regarding whether the cabinet appointments, including the replacement of Minister Moon Bang-gyu, were 'general election credentials' or 'general election business cards.'" He added, "We will thoroughly inform the public of the facts regarding personnel issues marked by problems such as drunk driving, plagiarism, suspected down contracts, and violence." Regarding the budget, he explained, "We need to observe the meeting between the ruling and opposition floor leaders today, but if no proper agreement is reached, passing the amendment (unilaterally) is also being considered as one of the likely options."

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