The National Assembly Steering Committee engaged in a heated debate on the 31st over the opposition party's proposed bill to abolish the automatic referral of the budget bill. The opposition argued that rushed reviews under time pressure should be avoided, while the ruling party expressed concerns that the opposition might insert populist cash handout budgets.
Kim Sang-hoon, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, stated at the full meeting of the Steering Committee that "The automatic referral system of the budget bill to the plenary session is unconstitutional and a core provision of the National Assembly Advancement Act, legislated in 2012 through bipartisan agreement to prevent habitual delays in budget bill processing," emphasizing that "abolishing the automatic referral system is effectively a regression of the National Assembly."
According to current law, the ruling and opposition parties must complete the budget review by the legal deadline of November 30. If the review is not completed, the original government budget bill is automatically referred to the plenary session. This is to minimize disruptions in utilizing next year's budget through prompt processing of the budget bill.
However, Hwang Un-ha, floor leader of the Party for National Innovation, who is the main sponsor of the bill, argues for abolishing the automatic referral system, saying, "Every year, the budget review deadline pressures prevent thorough review by the relevant committees, resulting in the budget bill being hastily processed, which causes significant side effects."
In response, Chair Kim criticized, "If the automatic referral system is abolished according to the Democratic Party's unconstitutional intent, the budget bill processing will exceed the constitutional deadline, delaying until the end of the year or later," adding, "The Democratic Party is highly likely to insert massive populist cash handout budgets using the delay in budget processing as leverage."
Chair Kim expressed concerns, saying, "This not only obstructs the central government's preparation of normal budget execution guidelines but also shortens the local budget review period for metropolitan and basic councils, ultimately causing the new year's budget not to be executed properly and transferring the damage to the public."
The ruling party plans to recommend that President Yoon Suk-yeol exercise his veto power even if the bill to abolish the automatic referral system passes the plenary session.
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