The People Power Party strongly criticized on the 6th the 13.9 trillion won budget allocated by the ruling party for consumer coupon payments to restore people's livelihoods in the supplementary budget proposal for the Lee Jae-myung government, which passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 4th, while cutting 905 million won from the defense budget, calling it "an irresponsible supplemental budget that sacrifices national security." The Democratic Party of Korea rebutted, calling it "a false agitation."

The People Power Party criticizes that the defense budget is cut by 90.5 billion won in the supplementary budget, calling it a 'security abandonment.' On the afternoon of the 2nd, Chairperson Han Byeong-do bangs the gavel during the 1st Special Committee on Budget & Accounts adjustment subcommittee meeting for the second supplementary budget for 2025 held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

Park Sung-hoon, the spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized in a commentary that day, saying, "The operational costs for safeguarding citizens' lives and safety and the defense improvement budget have become the sacrificial victims of the supplementary budget," and added, "This is practically equivalent to giving up on security."

According to the review report of the Special Committee on Budget & Accounts for the second supplementary budget proposal for 2025, the defense budget has been cut by 905.23 billion won in this supplementary budget.

The defense improvement projects saw a budget cut of 878 million won across 7 projects, including ▲ Performance upgrade of the GOP (General Outpost) scientific boundary system (300 million won) ▲ 120mm self-propelled mortar (200 million won) ▲ Special operations pistol (137 million won) ▲ Mobile long-range radar (119 million won) ▲ Second project for large attack helicopters (97 million won) ▲ Small unmanned aerial vehicle response system (1.2 billion won) ▲ Mobility restriction munitions (1.2 billion won).

The budget under the Ministry of National Defense has been cut in areas such as ▲ Official residences and lodging for officers (450 million won) ▲ Communication fees (1.2 billion won) ▲ Information protection (1.1 billion won).

Park, the spokesperson, criticized, saying, "If funds were truly needed, it would have been reasonable to retract the revival of the special activity expenses of the presidential office, which the Democratic Party said was unnecessary," and questioned, "Did President Lee Jae-myung's statement that 'peace is the economy' ultimately mean to divert the defense budget to distribute cash?"

Lee Yong-won, a member of the People Power Party and a former defense reporter, also noted on Facebook the day before that while the budget for the second project for the large attack helicopters was confirmed at 300 million won, reduced from 1 billion won, it was effectively canceled as the funds were diverted to other projects. He analyzed that the project was determined in May during the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting as part of the review of alternative forces, including unmanned complex systems, but the budget was entirely cut in the supplementary budget, increasing the likelihood of the project's nullification.

The People Power Party is also raising concerns that the reduction in the defense budget was processed without prior discussion and was concealed until the last minute of the negotiations of the Budget and Accounts Committee. The party leadership plans to further scrutinize the related details at the levels of the Defense Committee and the Budget and Accounts Committee.

The Defense Acquisition Agency stated that the budget for defense projects reduced in the supplementary budget was calculated after discussions with relevant departments such as the Ministry of National Defense, considering projects where a contract difference occurred or where execution within the year became difficult.

The Democratic Party of Korea also expressed opposition. Spokesperson Hwang Jeong-a criticized in a commentary, saying, "Most of the budget for this defense project reflects the unused budget due to delays and non-fulfillments in trials and evaluations, negotiations, and contracts, as well as contract differences." She added, "For instance, the most significantly cut GOP scientific boundary system faced contract limitations due to delays in evaluations. Is it reasonable to allocate a budget for a project that cannot be contracted?"

She further criticized, saying, "The People Power Party is making groundless claims that the Lee Jae-myung government abandoned defense while trailing behind the passed supplementary budget," and stated, "Even the defense budget is being pulled into false agitation."