Hong Ik-pyo "Securing Livelihood Budget"... Self-assessment on 'Defending Controversial Budget'

"Irresponsible Government and Ruling Party... Democratic Party Protects People's Livelihoods"
Ruling and Opposition Parties Reach Budget Agreement After Tug-of-War Negotiations
Opposition Defends 'Lee Jae-myung's Budget' Including Local Love Gift Certificates

Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, praised the budget for next year, which was dramatically agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties, saying, "The Democratic Party has corrected the government's faulty budget allocation and secured a budget for restoring people's livelihoods and preparing for the future."

At the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 21st, Floor Leader Hong said, "I deeply apologize for the budget agreement being processed late, beyond the legal deadline," but added, "The Democratic Party did its best to protect the difficult lives and future of the people."

Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the tug-of-war negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties over the contentious budget items, which extended beyond the legal deadline for budget approval on the 2nd, Floor Leader Hong evaluated it as "a process of transferring taxpayers' money from the president's pocket to the people's pockets." He continued, "We cut unnecessary budgets such as special activity expenses for the prosecution, increased the R&D (Research and Development) budget by 60 billion won, and raised the budgets for local love gift certificates and Saemangeum by 30 billion won each," emphasizing again that the Democratic Party defended the so-called 'Lee Jae-myung budget.'

He also explained that the budget reflected 'livelihood sector' items such as energy support funds for small business owners, loan interest subsidies, pilot projects for nursing hospital caregiving support, medical expenses for rare disease patients, and support projects for people with developmental disabilities. In the 'youth sector,' the budget included temporary special support for youth monthly rent, the Tomorrow Filling Deduction, youth job leap incentives, and the Thousand-Won Breakfast program. In the 'childcare sector,' the budget for the pilot project of neighborhood elementary school care was included. Nursing hospital caregiving support and neighborhood elementary school care are also the Democratic Party's pledges for next year's general election.

Additionally, Floor Leader Hong stated, "Regarding historical matters, we increased the budget for the Dokdo and Japan projects of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, and in the regions, the budget for the extension project of Subway Line 5 to Gimpo Geomdan, where incidents and accidents have been continuous due to increasing passengers, was reflected." He added, "Budgets for fertilizer price subsidies and agricultural product supply stabilization support were also additionally increased." He emphasized, "The Democratic Party also led budget increases related to domestic violence and stalking prevention and victim support, social enterprise support, and support for Korea Electric Power Corporation University."

Addressing the government and ruling party, he said, "The government and ruling party, which bear unlimited responsibility for state affairs, irresponsibly delayed the process, causing the budget agreement to be significantly late," but also expressed gratitude, saying, "I appreciate Floor Leader Yoon Jae-ok of the People Power Party for his efforts that made the agreement possible." He added, "The National Assembly will continue to manage and supervise to ensure this budget is properly executed," and urged, "The government should also make every effort."

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