The supplementary budget proposal for the first time under Lee Jae-myung's administration passed the hurdle of the National Assembly main meeting on the 4th. It amounts to 31.8 trillion won, which is about 1.3 trillion won more than the government's proposal. If approved, consumer recovery coupons are expected to be distributed to all citizens this month, with a minimum of 150,000 won and a maximum of 550,000 won per person.
The National Assembly presented the second supplementary budget for this year for a vote around 10:30 p.m. that day. Members of the People Power Party did not participate in the vote.
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, which had shown differences over the revival of special operation expenses for the presidential office, prosecutors, and police, as well as the burden-sharing ratio of central and local government budgets related to consumer coupons, ultimately failed to reach an agreement on the supplementary budget. Consequently, the members of the People Power Party initially planned to attend the main meeting but decided to abstain from the vote. However, after the ruling party unilaterally announced several delays in opening the session, they left the main meeting and did not return.
The expenditure amount of the supplementary budget confirmed at the National Assembly main meeting that day is 31.7914 trillion won. This is an increase of 1.2463 trillion won from the 30.5451 trillion won submitted by the government after the cabinet meeting last month. During the National Assembly review process, 2.3721 trillion won was increased, while 1.1258 trillion won was reduced from existing projects.
Of the increased 2.3721 trillion won, more than half (1.8742 trillion won) was allocated to expanding consumer coupons. The public subsidy rate for consumer coupons will increase from 70% to 75% in Seoul, and from 80% to 90% in areas outside the metropolitan area. In addition, it was decided to provide an additional payment of up to 50,000 won to residents in population-decreasing areas such as rural areas. Following the passage of the supplementary budget, consumer coupons are set to be distributed in advance this month, with additional payments expected within two months.
Last year, during the budget review process for the 2025 budget under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the special operation expenses for the presidential office, Ministry of Justice, Board of Audit and Inspection, and the Korean National Police Agency, which were unilaterally cut by the Democratic Party, were increased by 10.5 billion won. Among them, the special operation expenses for the Office of the President and the National Security Office amount to about 4.1 billion won.
The livelihood budget also increased as it went through discussions in the National Assembly. ▲ Childcare support project (113.1 billion won) ▲ Electric vehicle supply project (105 billion won) ▲ Developmentally disabled support budget (24.9 billion won) ▲ National funding support for art instructors in elementary and middle schools (4.9 billion won) ▲ Stockpile of 20,000 tons of domestic soybeans (102.1 billion won) ▲ Expansion of equipment to respond to temperature changes (2 billion won) ▲ Alternative crop project for mushroom farming households affected by forest fire damage (10.3 billion won) ▲ Leasing of three large forestry helicopters (15.9 billion won) are included in the supplementary budget increase items.
The government secured part of the budget resources by reducing 1.1 trillion won. However, the remainder will be covered by issuing government bonds. Thus, with this supplementary budget, the government debt will rise to 1,301.9 trillion won (49.1% of GDP) based on the original budget.
The process leading up to the passage of the supplementary budget in the main meeting was not smooth. Early that morning, the final negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties ultimately broke down, and the Democratic Party made it clear that they would ensure the supplementary budget would pass by the last day of the June extraordinary session.
During the final review process of the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts, the ruling and opposition parties clashed fiercely all day long. The People Power Party criticized the revival of special operation expenses cut during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, refused to apologize to the public, condemned the reduction of the basic pension, and opposed the delays and opaque handling of increases and decreases. The leadership of the People Power Party visited the presidential office to deliver a letter of protest.
The Special Committee on Budget & Accounts' subcommittee was scheduled to convene at 12:40 p.m. that day, but discussions within the ruling party took longer than expected, leading to delays of more than two hours. Ultimately, members of the People Power Party all exited the budget subcommittee, and the supplementary budget was passed solely by the ruling party in the subsequent full meeting.
The ruling and opposition parties also clashed in the main meeting. Park Soo-min, a member of the People Power Party speaking in opposition, stated, "Last winter and spring, we experienced a political upheaval close to civil war. That upheaval erupted after the unilateral reduction of the budget on Nov. 29 of last year. The core item in that budget cut was the special operation expenses for the president," adding, "President Lee Jae-myung has made a mistake in unilaterally cutting the special operation expenses. I ask that he sincerely apologize to the public for this mistake."
On the other hand, Lee So-young, the Democratic Party of Korea's committee member, said, "The situation is not at all the same as the previous government. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has made a mess of the country for three years, does not even show up for work properly, and instead drinks bomb shots at the official residence. Is this not why we are asking where the money is being spent? If we had a perfectly capable president, there would not have been such a thing (cutting special operation expenses)." She continued, "Let this new government perform well first, and if something goes wrong afterward, we can impose sanctions or criticism then."
Within the ruling party, there were also clashes over special operation expenses. The inclusion of prosecutors' special operation expenses in the supplementary budget sparked protests from Democratic Party members advocating for judicial reform. Representative Hwang Un-ha of the Rebuilding Korea Party criticized during an opposition discussion, "The prosecutors did not prove the details of the 8 billion won in special operation expenses at all, leading us to completely cut it last year. I am curious about the circumstances under which this cut special operation expenses have come back from the dead. Has the prosecution since then proved the details of the special operation expenses?"
Reflecting these voices, the Democratic Party included in the supplementary budget an additional opinion stating, "The Ministry of Justice will execute the prosecutors' special operation expenses after completing the legislation for judicial reform."