[National Assembly Research Group] ③ Average Budget Plan is 18 Million KRW... Evaluation by Deliberation Committee

This Year's Total Budget Plan: 1.22075 Billion KRW
Payments Not Made as Planned... Equal Distribution in the First Year of Opening

Editor's NoteAs of October 10, 67 parliamentary research groups have been formed in the 22nd National Assembly. Research groups led by People Power Party members have gathered mainly around senior lawmakers. Research groups led by Democratic Party members have centered around the 'Lee Jae-myung policy.' However, seven lawmakers did not join any research group, citing reasons such as not wanting to belong to any faction. The status of research groups was analyzed in three parts. ①Taking a closer look at parliamentary research groups... ②Research groups that do not conduct research ③How much is the budget?

Parliamentary research groups assist lawmakers' legislative activities through discussions and seminars on various topics. Each lawmaker's office incurs costs such as securing venues and inviting speakers to hold discussions and seminars. Asia Economy analyzed the budget plans requested by parliamentary research groups for their activities this year.

The total budget plan for research activity expenses of the 67 parliamentary research groups in the 22nd National Assembly is 1,220.75 million KRW. The average amount is approximately 18.22 million KRW. This means that each research group plans to spend close to 20 million KRW during the second half of this year.

The research group that planned to use the most funds is the 'National Assembly World Korean Economic Forum,' led by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seong-won. It allocated 36.4 million KRW. This is nearly twice the average research activity budget of the 67 research groups. This research group aims to promote economic exchanges between Korea and overseas Korean businesspeople, foster global talent, and build trade infrastructure. A staff member from Kim's office explained, "Since this forum is to help Koreans engaged in trade worldwide, even a single seminar attracts many participants from various countries, so preparation costs are high," adding, "During the 21st National Assembly, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook was the representative, and the budget plan was based on costs from that time."

The research group that planned to use the least funds is the 'Local Extinction and Climate Crisis Agricultural Innovation Forum,' led by Democratic Party lawmakers Seo Sam-seok and Wi Seong-gon, with 6.5 million KRW. This forum was established to develop sustainable agricultural innovation measures and conduct legislative activities amid local extinction and climate crisis situations. However, the absence of small-scale research outsourcing and lower costs for banners and posters compared to other research groups are interpreted as factors contributing to cost savings.

However, research activity expenses are not paid as planned by the research groups. Support for research activity expenses is decided through deliberation and resolution by the Parliamentary Research Group Support Review Committee. Currently, the committee includes National Assembly Vice Speaker Joo Ho-young, Democratic Party Floor Deputy Leader Park Seong-jun, People Power Party Floor Deputy Leader Bae Jun-young, and National Assembly Secretary-General Kim Min-gi. The committee cannot arbitrarily evaluate and allocate research activity expenses to each research group. They reflect the evaluation results of the National Assembly Legislative Awards Review Committee to provide differentiated support for research activity expenses.

On the 16th, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, Assemblyman Kim Jae-seop, and Joo Hyung-hwan, vice chairman of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, along with other attendees, are taking a commemorative photo at the 'Sunpung (順風) Forum Inaugural General Meeting' held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In the first year after inauguration, since there is no data to evaluate, the budget allocated for research activity expenses is distributed equally among the research groups. A National Assembly official said, "The allocation of research activity expenses to the 22nd National Assembly research groups has been completed," adding, "The exact amounts will be disclosed early next year."

There were also complaints that the research activity expenses provided by the National Assembly are insufficient. A secretary who requested anonymity said, "Each lawmaker's office commissions research projects and holds forums with research activity expenses. Through this process, they obtain items for proposed bills and questions for the National Assembly audit," adding, "The budget has been decreasing year by year, but it is fortunate to have even this."

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