Lower Limit of Loss Compensation Raised from 100,000 to 500,000 Won
Support for Local Currency at 30 Trillion Won Scale
Light Aircraft Carrier Project, Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail to Agree, 7.2 Billion Won Approved as Government Proposal
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] As the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach a final agreement on the 2022 budget bill, the National Assembly plenary session on the 2nd is expected to solely present and pass a revised bill worth 607.7 trillion won submitted by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
On the same day, Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a party meeting held at the National Assembly in the afternoon, "We have passed a budget bill of 607.7 trillion won, which is 3.3 trillion won more than the original government budget of 604.4 trillion won."
Floor leader Yoon explained, "A part we paid special attention to in this budget was the support for small business owners, which candidate Lee Jae-myung strongly requested and the lawmakers also asked for," adding, "The minimum amount of loss compensation was raised from 100,000 won to 500,000 won." He evaluated, "Although we did not reach the 1 million won we originally wanted, raising it to at least half, 500,000 won, is a very significant achievement."
Yoon said, "Including this, about 35.8 trillion won for low-interest loans for small business owners and about 30 trillion won in local currency support, totaling about 68 trillion won, nearly 70 trillion won in support measures for small business owners have been prepared, which is quite meaningful," and added, "In addition, budgets for tourism, sports, and cultural sectors were reflected, and more than 7 trillion won was secured for quarantine and medical support to respond urgently to the COVID-19 situation."
He highlighted the expansion of child allowance recipients to children under 8 years old, and the provision of 300,000 won for infants aged 0-1 and 2 million won for post-birth childcare support, emphasizing, "This may help improve the birth rate."
Regarding the light aircraft carrier (Gyeonghangmo) project, which had significant disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, he said, "We tried our best to reach a bipartisan agreement, but since we could not agree on all proposals, the revised bill will not be jointly submitted by both parties," adding, "Our party will submit the revised bill, and the opposition party plans to hold a debate opposing the Gyeonghangmo project."
The Democratic Party decided to include the budget related to the Gyeonghangmo project as per the government's original proposal in the revised budget bill to be presented to the plenary session. The Gyeonghangmo project was virtually cut entirely during the preliminary review of the defense committee budget, leaving only 500 million won as indirect costs. The Democratic Party submitted a revised bill reflecting a total of 4.8 billion won in the budget, including the minimum design cost of 4.3 billion won and 500 million won in indirect costs, but the People Power Party strongly opposed it, calling it a "land-grabbing" project, leading to the breakdown of final negotiations.
Shin Hyun-young, the floor spokesperson, told reporters after the party meeting, "The revised bill to be presented at the plenary session will include 7.2 billion won for the Gyeonghangmo in the government budget," adding, "The parts that failed to reach an agreement will be reflected as per the government's original proposal, and the agenda will be submitted accordingly."
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