[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, recently lamented that the National Assembly's delayed passage of next year's budget lacks any allocation for livelihood expenses and is merely a showy budget to fulfill presidential election pledges, calling it shameful.
On the 23rd, in a post titled "Three Shameful Aspects of the Delayed Budget Agreement" on his Facebook, Governor Kim stated, "(This year's delayed budget) is shameful as the longest delayed New Year's budget," and questioned, "Who exactly is this agreement and budget for?"
He then pointed out the reasons why this budget is shameful in detail.
First, Governor Kim said, "It is shameful that livelihood budgets were not properly reflected," adding, "The budget for local currency next year was cut by half compared to this year," and directly criticized, "This is like stripping away the winter clothes worn by ordinary citizens, small business owners, and self-employed people who are enduring the severe economic hardships akin to today's (23rd) cold wave."
He also stated, "Looking at this budget, it is shameful that they pushed for showy tax cuts to keep election pledges," and argued, "It is hard to agree that a 1% point corporate tax cut will increase investment during the current recession." Furthermore, he advised, "What is more important in the current economic situation is deregulation, consistency, and predictability of government policies."
Governor Kim additionally emphasized, "It is shameful that livelihood budgets and political budgets were 'exchanged half and half' through political bargaining," and said, "I do not understand what relation the budgets for the Police Bureau or the Personnel Information Management Bureau have with livelihood. When it comes to livelihood budgets, the ruling and opposition parties must put aside political strife and work together to overcome economic difficulties."
However, he added, "We cannot just be discouraged by shame," promising, "Despite the difficult economic conditions, Gyeonggi Province will focus more on protecting livelihoods and vulnerable groups, and regarding local currency, although it has already been reflected in next year's budget, we will additionally allocate funds through supplementary budgets according to demand."
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