Kwon Young-se: "National Assembly's Unilateral Budget Cuts... Should Not Set a Bad Precedent"

First Policy Consultation Meeting Held at Sarangjae
Kwon: "Cooperation is Our Duty to the People"

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, criticized the National Assembly on the 20th, saying, "Although the authority to draft the budget clearly belongs to the government under the Constitution, the National Assembly unilaterally reduced the budget and passed it, which is clearly wrong," and emphasized that the National Assembly must uphold the principle of separation of powers.

Chairman Kwon made these remarks during the first National Assembly-Government Policy Consultation Meeting for national stability held at Sarangjae in the National Assembly in the afternoon, adding, "We must ensure that such issues never arise again, and no more bad precedents should be left behind."

This statement is interpreted as a criticism of the Democratic Party, which demanded a supplementary budget (supplementary budget) after forcibly passing a reduced budget that significantly cut livelihood budgets and special activity expenses for agencies during the 2025 budget bill process despite opposition from the ruling party. Chairman Kwon said, "Our citizens watching the National Assembly are concerned that this is not about checks and balances but interference."

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Chairman Kwon also said about the policy consultation meeting, "We must urgently discuss pressing livelihood issues with the sole focus on the people," emphasizing, "The most important part of our politics is cooperation. Although it will not be easy, we need to do our best to communicate and consult with each other. This is the duty of those who are so-called politicians toward the people."

He also stressed that a practical agreement must be reached at the policy consultation meeting. Chairman Kwon said, "I hope today marks the starting point of politics for the people," and expressed hope that "this meeting will not be a meaningless abstract agreement but a substantive meeting that presents the direction for future working-level talks."

Regarding Lee’s reaction, who seemed to accept including an exemption from the 52-hour workweek system in the Semiconductor Industry Special Act but faced opposition within his party and returned to square one, Chairman Kwon indirectly criticized by saying, "I thought our Leader Lee was the most powerful figure in a unipolar system, but looking at policy matters, it seems that Jin Sung-jun, the Democratic Party Policy Committee Chairman, is the most powerful."

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