Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo, Floor Leader of the People Power Party Joo Ho-young, and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party Park Hong-geun are meeting in the Speaker's Office of the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy reporters Oh Ju-yeon, Geum Bo-ryeong, Park Jun-i] Attention is focused on whether the ruling and opposition parties, who have been heavily criticized for the 'delayed budget approval' including discussions about politicians' 'conscience,' can meet the fourth D-day. The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party still clashed over key issues such as the corporate tax cut and the budgets for the Police Bureau and the Personnel Information Management Unit on the 19th, the deadline for budget approval announced by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. However, since both parties are narrowing their differences on the final issue of the corporate tax cut and feel burdened by dragging out the budget approval until the end of the year, the possibility of a last-minute agreement remains open.
The floor leaders of both parties were scheduled to negotiate on the next year's budget and contentious bills at the National Assembly from 10:30 a.m., chaired by Speaker Kim, but the meeting was canceled due to the absence of Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun. It is reported that Park said he would not participate unless the People Power Party presented a new proposal.
People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young told reporters immediately after the meeting, "The Speaker said that the budget has already been delayed far beyond the deadline, and upon investigation, the entire process is being held up due to one or two issues. Therefore, both sides should actively find parts that both can accept and reach an agreement today. We will quickly contact each other to find a mutually acceptable solution."
The day before, the floor leaders of both parties held a tripartite meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho at the National Assembly to continue negotiations on next year's budget. During the approximately one-hour negotiation, the ruling and opposition parties were at odds over lowering the top corporate tax rate (currently 25%) by 1 percentage point and the budgets for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Police Bureau and the Ministry of Justice’s Personnel Information Management Unit.
Regarding the corporate tax, the People Power Party insists that there should be a reduction roughly equivalent to the 3 percentage points originally requested by the government, while the Democratic Party argues that the Speaker’s final mediation proposal to reduce it by 1 percentage point should be accepted.
As for the Police Bureau and Personnel Information Management Unit budgets, the Democratic Party accepted the Speaker’s proposal to include a supplementary opinion to cut the budgets entirely but allow preliminary expenditure from contingency funds. However, the People Power Party opposed this, arguing that using contingency funds first denies the organization’s function and legitimacy.
Floor leader Park said at the Supreme Council meeting in the morning, "We have waited enough, negotiated, and made concessions," adding, "If the People Power Party is a ruling party with unlimited responsibility, they should immediately accept the Speaker’s mediation proposal instead of being overly concerned about President Yoon Seok-yeol’s mood." He criticized, "If the ruling People Power Party accepts the Speaker’s mediation proposal, the budget will be approved immediately. We have been going in circles all weekend, leaving everything to 'Yoon’s mind'." He urged, "Please promptly convene the plenary session of the National Assembly and approve the budget, whether it is the Speaker’s mediation proposal, the Democratic Party’s revised proposal, or the government’s original plan."
On the other hand, the People Power Party countered that the Democratic Party is holding up the entire budget over two issues: the corporate tax and the Police Bureau and Personnel Information Management Unit budgets. Especially as the Democratic Party announced it would start activities of the special committee for the Itaewon tragedy investigation from this day, the deadlock between the ruling and opposition parties is expected to continue for some time. From the People Power Party’s perspective, this is like pouring cold water on a situation where an agreement on the corporate tax cut had been reached during the previous meeting.
Floor leader Joo warned at the emergency countermeasure meeting in the morning about the opposition party starting the Itaewon tragedy special committee investigation alone, calling it a "clear violation of the agreement." He said, "If the Democratic Party unilaterally operates the special committee, we cannot request an extension of the investigation period afterward. If they start the special committee now to finish within this period, we will absolutely not allow the originally promised January 7 deadline to be extended."
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