野 "Sogupjeogyong Included, Revisions Needed" vs 與 "Will Hold Plenary Session Tomorrow and Process"
[Asia Economy Reporters Juyoun Oh, Hyunju Lee, Juni Park] The ruling and opposition parties continued their dispute on the 26th over the passage of the 2nd supplementary budget (supplementary budget) bill. The Democratic Party of Korea is emphasizing the necessity of a supplementary budget worth 51.3 trillion won, highlighting the retroactive application of loss compensation for self-employed and small business owners affected by COVID-19. This is about 15 trillion won more than the 36.4 trillion won (excluding local allocation tax) agreed upon by the People Power Party and the government.
Along with this, the Democratic Party is demanding revisions to restore a significant portion of the 7 trillion won in expenditure restructuring, but the People Power Party is firmly opposing, announcing a 'speed race' by pledging to hold a plenary session of the National Assembly on the 27th and pass the supplementary budget within the May extraordinary session.
On the day, Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the policy coordination meeting, "I am concerned whether the first supplementary budget of the new government can properly support the complete overcoming of COVID-19 and stabilize people’s livelihoods," and pointed out, "Retroactive application of loss compensation was President Yoon Seok-yeol’s pledge, but there is no retroactive application anywhere in the supplementary budget."
The Democratic Party presented detailed plans demanding an increase, including retroactive application of loss compensation for small business owners (36.3 trillion won), financial support budget for small business owners (6.9 trillion won), support for local love gift certificates and consumption coupons (700 billion won), support for vulnerable groups such as special employment workers (2.1 trillion won), fuel tax support for farmers and fishermen (490 billion won), COVID-19 quarantine (1.4 trillion won), and prevention and response to wildfires in Gangwon Province and North Gyeongsang Province (80 billion won).
The Democratic Party’s Policy Committee and Budget Committee held a press conference in the morning to announce their 'position on the ruling and opposition parties’ negotiation on the 2nd supplementary budget,' criticizing, "The ruling and opposition parties promised retroactive application of loss compensation to fully compensate COVID losses during the last presidential election, but now the People Power Party is ignoring it citing legislative deficiencies," calling it a "violation of the public promise." They also emphasized 'robust support' by stating that the 9 trillion won budget for government bond repayment reflected in the government’s supplementary budget should be utilized.
Kim Seong-hwan, chairman of the Policy Committee, said, "The government says it will repay 9 trillion won in government bonds, which means there is capacity to provide an additional 9 trillion won in support to protect small business owners strongly," and added, "The Democratic Party’s judgment is that it is a more urgent task to enable people affected by COVID-19 to receive some support than to repay government bonds." Regarding the government’s 7 trillion won expenditure restructuring plan, he emphasized, "It is right to minimize it."
Meng Seong-gyu, Democratic Party whip of the National Assembly Budget Committee, criticized, "Despite telling each standing committee and the Budget Committee to restore a significant portion of this (expenditure restructuring amount), the government has not made any moves," and said, "There are 1,485 items in expenditure restructuring, but the Democratic Party’s final position is to re-examine about 100 items, but there is no response."
However, even if expenditure adjustments are minimized and the government cuts the 9 trillion won for government bond repayment, there are concerns that it will be insufficient to secure the supplementary budget funds of 51 trillion won claimed by the Democratic Party.
Regarding this, Chairman Kim said, "It does not mean that we will insist on 100%," but added, "However, I cannot agree with the fact that the government is not even showing sincerity toward the Democratic Party’s proposal. In that regard, I understand that the ruling and opposition party whips are continuing to negotiate."
On the other hand, the People Power Party is moving forward with a speed race, stating that they will hold a plenary session on the 27th as originally planned and definitely pass the supplementary budget bill.
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said on the day, "No matter what happens, the supplementary budget bill must be passed tomorrow to execute the 2nd supplementary budget." At the on-site floor countermeasure meeting held at the election office of Yoon Hyung-sun, candidate for Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, Kwon emphasized, "To pass it within the May extraordinary session, the plenary session must be held immediately tomorrow."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
