Ruling, Opposition, and Government Leaders Clash Over 'Semiconductor Act' and 'Supplementary Budget' From the Outset

Choi Sangmok: "Without the Special Working Hours Provision, It's Just an Ordinary Semiconductor Law"
Lee Jaemyung: "I Can't Agree... Even Small Progress Must Be Made"
Kwon Youngse: "The Reduced Budget Is Wrong... We Must Not Set a Bad Precedent"
Lee Jaemyung: "Public Suffering... The Supplementary Budget Is an Important Tool"

On February 20, the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties, as well as the government, engaged in a tense standoff from the very first meeting of the National Policy Council, clashing sharply over contentious issues such as the Special Semiconductor Act and the supplementary budget (extra budget).

Choi Sangmok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs; Woo Wonshik, Speaker of the National Assembly; Kwon Youngse, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party; and Lee Jaemyung, leader of the Democratic Party, held the inaugural meeting of the National Policy Council at Sarangjae in the National Assembly that afternoon. This meeting took place 42 days after the council was first proposed and about two months after the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol was passed.

The opening statements were delivered in the order of Acting President Choi, Emergency Committee Chairman Kwon, Democratic Party Leader Lee, and Speaker Woo. Acting President Choi opened fire at the Democratic Party, which insisted on passing the Special Semiconductor Act without the exception clause for the 52-hour workweek. He stated, "The special provision for working hours is intended to allow people to focus on essential tasks when absolutely necessary," and criticized, "If this is not included, it is nothing more than an 'ordinary semiconductor law,' not a special one."

He further emphasized, "In major countries such as the United States and Japan, advanced semiconductor professionals are dedicated to developing new technologies without restrictions on working hours," adding, "To make matters worse, the United States is also preparing to impose tariffs on semiconductors. There is no more time to lose."

Speaker Woo then asked Democratic Party Leader Lee to speak, but Lee deferred, saying, "The ruling party should go first." Emergency Committee Chairman Kwon responded, "This is not the kind of concession we should be receiving, but I will accept it anyway," making a pointed remark with a smile. This was interpreted as a veiled criticism of the Democratic Party for not cooperating on issues where the ruling and opposition parties have clashed, such as the Special Semiconductor Act, pension reform, and inheritance tax law.

Yonhap News Agency

Chairman Kwon also strongly criticized the Democratic Party's unilateral passage of the 2025 reduced budget bill, emphasizing the principles of separation of powers and cooperative governance. He stated, "The authority to draft the budget clearly belongs to the government under the Constitution, yet the National Assembly unilaterally cut the budget and passed it, which was clearly wrong," and urged, "We must ensure that such actions never happen again and avoid setting any more bad precedents."

This was interpreted as criticism of the Democratic Party for pushing through the reduced budget bill despite opposition from the government and the ruling party, and then demanding a supplementary budget. Previously, President Yoon Suk Yeol also cited the Democratic Party's unilateral passage of the reduced budget bill as one of the causes of the December 3 Martial Law declaration.

Democratic Party Leader Lee did not hesitate to respond to the provocations of Acting President Choi and Chairman Kwon.

Targeting Acting President Choi's remark that "a Special Semiconductor Act without the special working hours provision is just an ordinary semiconductor law," Lee said, "I cannot agree with the idea that we should not proceed with the Special Semiconductor Act unless the working hours exception issue is resolved," and maintained, "If we can achieve even small progress, we must do so. Attaching conditions that make agreement difficult and refusing to proceed is not something the public will readily accept." He insisted on passing the provisions that have already been agreed upon.

He continued, "At the forum with semiconductor companies, it was agreed that total working hours would not be increased and that all allowances for modified working hours would be paid without exception," stressing, "As far as I know, even the industry has said, 'This provision is not really necessary, and it is sufficient if the Ministry of Labor relaxes the approval requirements.'"

Regarding the supplementary budget, he said, "The economy is in such difficulty that we must at least ensure minimum living conditions so that people do not suffer any further," adding, "It is one of the important tools we can choose right now. I hope we can reach an agreement." Speaker Woo also emphasized that all parties and the government recognize the need for a supplementary budget, stating, "At the very least, I hope we can agree on the formation of a supplementary budget today. There are contentious issues, but since we share a sense of urgency, I believe agreement is possible."

Yonhap News

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