Joo Ho-young: "If the opposition submits 'Lee Sang-min impeachment motion,' budget compromise will be difficult"

Pre-Impeachment Motion Before State Audit, Possible Budget Impact
Opposition-Only Bills Face "Presidential Veto Recommendation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said regarding the passage of next year's budget, "(The Democratic Party) is expected to submit an impeachment motion against Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, before the 8th or 9th, so I believe it will be difficult to reach a compromise on the budget."

Floor leader Joo appeared on KBS's 'Sunday Diagnosis Live' on the morning of the 4th and stated, "From meetings with the Democratic Party, I understand that they plan to submit the impeachment motion targeting the 8th or 9th and cancel the dismissal recommendation motion."

He said, "The budget meeting with the Policy Committee chairman and the floor negotiators will be held at 4 p.m. today. If it is not resolved by today, the floor leaders will have to finalize it with political judgment," adding, "Originally, the plan was to pass the budget, conduct a national audit, and hold those responsible accountable based on the audit, but if the dismissal recommendation or impeachment motion is submitted before the audit, the budget could be affected."

Regarding the possibility of passing the budget during the regular National Assembly session, he predicted, "The Democratic Party is trying to forcibly pass several bills such as the Yellow Envelope Act and the Broadcasting Act, and by creating the unexpected variable of the dismissal recommendation motion, it will not be easy to pass the budget by the 8th or 9th. If such variables are mixed in, the probability of a deadlock is very high."

On the budget disputes, Floor leader Joo said, "(The Democratic Party) has a budget they want to enforce as if they were in power, and since the regime has changed, they are using their number of seats to block everything the Yoon Seok-yeol government is trying to actively pursue, which causes conflicts," mentioning the Democratic Party's demands for increased budgets for rental housing and local currency.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also criticized the Democratic Party for the Broadcasting Act amendment passed unilaterally in the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee and the Yellow Envelope Act unilaterally submitted in the Environment and Labor Committee's bill subcommittee, saying, "The Democratic Party is pushing through with the power of their 169 seats and repeatedly undermining the agenda adjustment committee under the National Assembly Act, completely destroying the spirit of the National Assembly Act," and added, "If such laws pass, we will have no choice but to recommend the president exercise the veto power."

Regarding tax law amendments such as the Corporate Tax Act and the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax Act, he said, "Lowering corporate tax and comprehensive real estate tax was also our election pledge, but Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung also pledged tax cuts," criticizing, "After the election ended and they lost, their tax cut pledges have completely disappeared and they are opposing it."

He added, "If the bill to reduce the comprehensive real estate tax does not pass, we plan to lower the burden of the comprehensive real estate tax next year by adjusting the official land price."