With "Supplementary Budget, Political Motive" vs Opposition "Need for Measures on Prices and Heating Costs" (Comprehensive)

Ruling and Opposition Parties Hold Morning and Afternoon Press Briefings on the 24th
Ruling Party: "Supplementary Budget Claim Is a Shield Against Lee's Risk"
Opposition Party: "Demand for Disaster Reserve Fund Allocation and Supplementary Budget"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The ruling and opposition parties offered conflicting interpretations of public sentiment during the Lunar New Year holiday. Both sides empathized with the hardships faced by the public, such as soaring heating costs, but the ruling People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party, which proposed solutions like supplementary budgets, claiming it was an attempt to cover up the legal risks of leader Lee Jae-myung.

Ruling Party: "Never Seen a Public Figure Acknowledged with So Many Criminal Charges"

On the afternoon of the 24th, Sung Il-jong, the Policy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, said at a press briefing, "I have never seen a public figure, who was a presidential candidate and party leader, facing so many criminal charges," adding, "The representative public sentiment during the Lunar New Year is that it is highly undesirable for Lee to try to escape the allegations related to his criminal suspicions."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Sung expressed regret over the hardships faced by ordinary citizens due to rising heating costs and inflation but criticized the Democratic Party's response as "political strife." He said, "The heating cost issue that the public is experiencing is regrettable because the government should provide support if it has more fiscal capacity to help people get through the cold winter," but added, "It is not desirable for the Democratic Party to exploit this issue for political conflict."

Regarding the Democratic Party's Policy Committee Chairman Kim Sung-hwan mentioning a "supplementary budget for public welfare response" at the party's press briefing that day, he called it a "political calculation." Sung said, "The conditions for a supplementary budget are stipulated in Article 89 of the National Finance Act, which allows it only in cases of disaster, war, or economic recession," adding, "The already passed budget of 639 trillion won is planned to be quickly executed in the first half of the year to stimulate the economy. It is just beginning, so talking about a supplementary budget now seems like a political calculation to cover up Lee's legal risks."

He continued, "Especially, the high interest rates are a policy to absorb liquidity in the market, and it is regrettable that this aspect was not considered," adding, "The Democratic Party's claims regarding the supplementary budget are quite inappropriate."

Opposition: "Lunar New Year’s Biggest Topic 'Heating Cost Bomb'... Demand for Full-Scale Supplementary Budget"

Earlier, the Democratic Party held a briefing ahead of the ruling party and launched a fierce attack, saying, "The biggest topics at the Lunar New Year table were the 'heating cost bomb' and 'verbal attacks.'"

Policy Committee Chairman Kim said, "The fact that heating costs have more than doubled is a huge hardship," adding, "I think the government should urgently allocate disaster reserve funds and actively support vulnerable groups struggling with the soaring heating costs."

He also mentioned the supplementary budget in relation to the 30 trillion won scale nine emergency livelihood projects proposed by leader Lee. Kim said, "It is time to seriously discuss and create alternatives. We have made broad proposals, but the government remains silent," adding, "We will do our best to persuade the ruling party and, if necessary, demand legislation, budget requests, and a full-scale supplementary budget to address the difficult livelihood issues and restore exports."

Additionally, the Democratic Party responded to Lee’s legal risks with a "Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor." Cho Jung-sik, the party’s Secretary-General, said, "There was widespread anger and condemnation over the prosecution’s tyranny, which has not taken any action regarding the overwhelming evidence of Kim Geon-hee’s stock manipulation suspicions, while being obsessed solely with destroying Lee," adding, "There were also strong voices saying, 'Anyone can see she is an accomplice, so what is the prosecution doing? We need a Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor.'"