Han Deok-su, who took over state affairs, urges the opposition party to 'pass the budget bill'

"Feeling a heavy sense of responsibility... No room for government vacuum"
Emphasizing 'Korea-US Alliance'... Cooperation with allies including Korea-US-Japan

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who took over the administration from President Yoon Suk-yeol following the declaration of martial law, emphasized a heavy sense of responsibility while appealing to the opposition party that the government-submitted budget bill must be passed. However, there are also criticisms that his remarks were limited to reaffirming fundamental policies rather than presenting concrete measures to manage the state affairs.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, are announcing a joint statement containing measures to manage state affairs on the morning of the 8th at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

In a public address at the People Power Party’s central office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 8th, Prime Minister Han stated, "As Prime Minister, I feel a heavy responsibility for the current situation," and added, "Above all, it is crucial that there be no gap whatsoever in state affairs." He urged the opposition party, saying, "Even in emergency situations, it is essential for the government-submitted budget and its subsidiary bills to be passed for the normal operation of state affairs," emphasizing, "Each ministry must prepare to execute their budgets on time to restore the livelihood economy promptly."

The resolution of the 'next year’s budget bill' has stalled since the opposition party unilaterally pushed through a reduced budget bill, leading to a deadlock. For Prime Minister Han, who has taken over the administration, the urgent task is the passage of next year’s budget-related bills in the plenary session.

Han said, "The government will first humble itself and seek cooperation," and stressed, "Under the leadership of Speaker Woo Won-shik, I hope that parliamentary operations through consultations between the ruling and opposition parties will take root in listening, compromise, rationality, and adjustment."

On the external front, he placed emphasis on the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance. He said, "Maintaining a strong South Korea-U.S. alliance while firmly sustaining South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation is a very significant and important task," adding, "The entire cabinet, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will do its utmost to maintain trust with South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and our allies."

He continued, "We will establish a robust security posture and manage external trust stably," and said, "We will strengthen the emergency economic response system, closely monitor risk factors in the financial and foreign exchange markets, and respond swiftly." He also added, "We will establish public order to ensure that citizens do not feel anxious and thoroughly prepare for disasters."

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