As the early presidential election phase continues, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party will enter a 'power struggle' over the supplementary budget of 12.2 trillion won coming from the government this week.
Both sides agree on the necessity of the supplementary budget, but fierce debates are expected over the scope of increased funding requested by the Democratic Party of Korea and support for local currency.
According to the political sector on the 20th, the government is set to submit the supplementary budget proposal to the National Assembly around the 22nd. Han Duck-soo, the acting prime minister, is reported to give a policy speech regarding the supplementary budget in the National Assembly sometime this week.
Afterward, the National Assembly is expected to finalize the supplementary budget in a plenary session around May 1 following a comprehensive policy inquiry by the Budget and Account Committee next week.
The Democratic Party of Korea plans to push for an increase in the supplementary budget, arguing that the amount submitted by the government is grossly insufficient for economic recovery and consumer stimulus.
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea claimed that a supplementary budget of 35 trillion won was necessary. They believe that the government's supplementary budget proposal, which focuses on addressing large fires and trade issues in the Yeongnam region, is inadequate to improve the domestic recession. They are known to hold the position that the supplementary budget should be expanded to at least 15 trillion won.
Presidential candidates from the Democratic Party of Korea, including Lee Jae-myung, Kim Dong-yeon, and Kim Kyeong-soo, stressed the need for a large-scale supplementary budget during a joint televised debate on the 18th.
On the other hand, the People Power Party counters that since the government has already increased the supplementary budget from the initially proposed 10 trillion won by more than 2 trillion won, any further increase is difficult due to concerns about the increased burden on national finances.
The People Power Party argues that the government's supplementary budget plan, which includes support for trade, artificial intelligence (AI) policies, disaster response, and livelihood issues, must be passed quickly by the National Assembly. They believe that it is more urgent to ensure immediate funding reaches the fields that need it rather than worrying about the amount of the supplementary budget.
In particular, there are expected to be difficulties during the budget proposal review process regarding the inclusion of the budget for local currency as demanded by the Democratic Party of Korea.
Jin Seong-jun, the policy committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized that 'issuing local currency is a policy that can yield the greatest effect with the least budget,' noting that 'the success or failure of the supplementary budget hinges on this.'
However, the People Power Party criticizes this as 'an increase in budget for Lee Jae-myung's presidential campaign' and 'cash distribution for votes.'
The People Power Party's stance is that local currency has failed to provide actual help to small business owners and self-employed individuals as it has been concentrated in high-spending areas such as private academies.
However, they plan to keep the possibility of a slight increase in the budget for supporting small businesses and revitalizing the economy open while engaging in discussions with the Democratic Party of Korea.