"'Inauguration Budget' Reduced as Defeat Looms... After Defeat, Baseless Accusations Become a Target"
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is giving a greeting before receiving a briefing on current issues in Chungbuk Innovation City and the construction of the National Fire Hospital at the Korea Employment Information Service in Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk, on the afternoon of the 29th. [Photo by Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The Democratic Party of Korea criticized the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, scheduled for the 10th, as a "luxurious waste of taxpayers' money," prompting the People Power Party to point out that "the initial draft of the 2022 budget was proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety under the current government last September," calling it "a trivial complaint."
Park Min-young, spokesperson for the People Power Party, released a statement on the 1st, saying, "According to the National Assembly's legislative information system, the initial draft of the 2022 budget, which included the inauguration ceremony expenses, was proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety under the current government last September," adding, "At that time, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety even mentioned the inauguration expenses of former President Park Geun-hye to argue that the over 4 billion won budget for the ceremony was not excessive."
Park continued, "Coincidentally, the budget proposal for the inauguration ceremony was made when former Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's approval ratings were ahead of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol," and claimed, "Then, in November last year, when the approval ratings of the President-elect surpassed those of former Governor Lee, the inauguration budget finalized on December 3rd was reduced to 3.3 billion won, showing a petty attitude."
He further criticized, "When the Democratic Party's victory was anticipated, they themselves proposed and defended the inauguration budget, but as their prospects dimmed, they not only reduced the budget but also, after their actual defeat, shamelessly used it as a subject for baseless slander, which raises suspicion about their behavior."
Additionally, Park urged, "The Democratic Party should immediately stop this ridiculous one-man show of pointing fingers and calling it spoiled kimchi after losing what they prematurely claimed," and raised his voice, saying, "We hope they apologize to the public for cunningly twisting their self-destructive harsh remarks, undermining the determination of the new government's launch and causing public disapproval."
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