[Interview] Democratic Party Budget Committee Whip Heo Young "Budget Cuts Related to Kim Geon-hee and Prosecution"

Expansion Policy of 'Lee Jae-myung's' Budget Including Local Currency
"Automatic Submission of Budget Bill Infringes on National Assembly's Budget Deliberation Rights"

Editor's NoteStarting with the budget hearing of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on the 31st of last month, the ruling and opposition parties have entered a budget war over next year's budget, which amounts to 677 trillion won. The major opposition party, which holds an overwhelming number of seats, has already announced fierce cuts and offensives even before the budget review began. The ruling party, with fewer seats, is also determined to fiercely defend the government’s budget proposal. We interviewed the secretaries of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts from both parties, who are at the forefront of this budget war that will last from as short as one month to as long as two months.

The Democratic Party of Korea has announced a 'pinpoint verification' ahead of the review of next year’s budget. They plan to drastically reduce the budget related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee and the prosecution, which have been under daily scrutiny, while increasing the budget related to policies promoted by Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. Representative Heo Young, the Democratic Party’s secretary of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts (Budget Committee), warned that the budget verification will not be easy. The following is a Q&A.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Heo Young is speaking at the National Assembly National Defense Committee's audit held at the Army Headquarters in Gyeryongdae, Chungnam, on the 17th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

What is the opposition party’s stance on the budget review?

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s tax revenue shortfall is at a serious level. Yet, it has focused solely on ultra-tight fiscal policy, managing the deficit ratio of the management fiscal balance to GDP within 3%. There is no national vision in the budget proposal. The state has an obligation to foster strategic industries and secure competitiveness, but it is questionable whether this budget can achieve that. The Democratic Party will point out the tax revenue shortfall and drastically cut unnecessary budgets.

Which budgets will you focus on cutting?

President Yoon made populist promises while holding a livelihood forum ahead of the 22nd general election. It is estimated that about 900 trillion won is needed to fulfill these promises. If populist promises are reflected in this budget proposal, they will be cut. Budgets related to First Lady Kim, such as the 'Mental Health Support Project' allocated 789.2 billion won, special activity expenses of power institutions like the prosecution, and the presidential office’s contingency funds will also be scrutinized and cut. In the case of First Lady Kim, there are circumstances linking her to a so-called political broker, Myung Tae-gyun, so the budget cannot be approved.

Which budgets are you considering increasing?

We plan to increase the budget related to local currency to provide strong protection for small business owners and self-employed individuals. This budget also helps in terms of domestic demand recovery. Budgets related to youth employment, low birth rates, and the climate crisis will also be increased by the Democratic Party if they are insufficient. We also plan to expand budgets that can prepare for future growth engines such as semiconductors and other national strategic industries.

What is your opinion on the amendment to the National Assembly Act that abolishes the automatic referral of the government’s original budget proposal to the plenary session?

So far, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has seriously infringed on the National Assembly’s budget review rights and ignored the constitution through the automatic referral clause of the National Assembly Act, which is an overreach of authority. It is right to abolish it now.