Tax Subcommittee Yet to Convene Even One Day Before Legal Deadline

After the previous day's disruption, differences between ruling and opposition parties remain
Democratic Party: "Lawmakers should properly submit bills"
People Power Party: No time to spare, only budget-related bills to be reviewed

Bang Gi-seon, the 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is waiting for the meeting to start at the National Assembly Tax Subcommittee room on the 28th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] With the legal deadline for the passage of the budget subsidiary bills just one day away on the 29th, the ruling and opposition parties have yet to narrow their differences, causing delays in the convening of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee Tax Subcommittee. The Democratic Party of Korea is protesting, claiming that the review of the budget subsidiary bills is being rushed, while the People Power Party is opposing, citing scheduling issues and refusing to discuss other agenda items.

According to the National Assembly, the Planning and Finance Committee Tax Subcommittee was originally scheduled to convene at 10 a.m. on the 29th but was postponed once. It was expected to meet at 2 p.m., but the subcommittee did not actually convene. The previous day’s Tax Subcommittee, also scheduled for 10 a.m., ended in disruption.

The current budget subsidiary bills include reform plans related to the Financial Investment Consumption Tax (Geumtu Tax), Comprehensive Real Estate Tax (Jongbu Tax), and corporate tax, which must be processed together with the budget, but with the subcommittee not convening, there has been no progress in discussions.

Bang Gi-seon, the 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is receiving reports from officials while waiting for the meeting to start at the Tax Subcommittee room of the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The Democratic Party criticized the People Power Party for focusing only on bills related to the budget subsidiary bills due to time constraints. The 257 agenda items submitted to the Tax Subcommittee are relatively few, and the Democratic Party claims that bills proposed by its members were not properly listed. The Democratic Party’s Planning and Finance Committee requested Ryu Seong-geol, the ruling party’s secretary, to list all relevant bills and also to include agenda items to be discussed in the Economic and Fiscal Subcommittee, such as the Basic Act on Social Economy. A Democratic Party Planning and Finance Committee official explained, "We are waiting for a final response from the People Power Party, but it has not yet come, so the subcommittee has not convened."

On the other hand, the People Power Party stated that with Secretary Ryu Seong-geol absent due to COVID-19 and limited time available, they cannot accept the Democratic Party’s demands. However, the People Power Party also pointed out that they cannot convene the subcommittee alone due to a lack of quorum, and even if they process bills through the small subcommittee, the bills are highly contentious between the parties, raising doubts about whether smooth progress can be made without consultation with the Democratic Party. A People Power Party Planning and Finance Committee official said, "We are also continuously on standby," and predicted, "It seems difficult to process the subsidiary bills this week."

However, several Planning and Finance Committee officials stated, "It cannot be ruled out that a dramatic agreement between the ruling and opposition parties may be reached late, allowing the Tax Subcommittee to convene."