Prime Minister Reads Speech Aloud for the First Time in 11 Years
National Communication Event Scheduled for the End of This Month at Midterm Point
President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 29th of last month at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
President Yoon Suk-yeol will likely have the Prime Minister read the speech at the National Assembly's policy address for next year's budget on the 4th, marking the first time in 11 years that the Prime Minister will deliver the speech instead of the sitting president. President Yoon deliberated extensively on whether to attend the policy address but decided not to participate, judging the situation unfavorable due to the confrontational National Assembly and the fallout from the political broker Myung Tae-gyun's recorded conversations.
According to the presidential office on the 3rd, President Yoon has settled on having Prime Minister Han Duck-soo read the policy address, which is the speech given when submitting the government budget proposal to the National Assembly. Although the policy address marks the start of the National Assembly's review of the 677 trillion won budget for next year, the intense confrontation between ruling and opposition parties over issues such as the special prosecutor law related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee and Myung Tae-gyun's phone calls could diminish its significance.
Criticism from opposition parties is intensifying over the president's absence from the policy address. President Yoon also did not attend the National Assembly's opening ceremony in September, making this the first time since democratization in 1987 that a sitting president has skipped the ceremony. At that time, the presidential office explained the absence by stating, "It is appropriate to normalize the National Assembly, which has been abusing special prosecutors and impeachment, before inviting the president."
Since the inauguration of the Park Geun-hye administration, sitting presidents have delivered the policy address for 11 consecutive years, but this year the tradition has been broken, drawing criticism. Democratic Party floor spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung said in a written briefing, "The policy address is not about wielding the right to spend the 677 trillion won budget but a moment to respectfully seek permission from the people, who are the owners and beneficiaries of this precious public tax money, on how the budget will be used," adding, "President Yoon must come to the National Assembly in person tomorrow, humbly seek cooperation regarding the budget, and directly explain to the people."
The presidential office maintains the position that, as with the absence at the September opening ceremony, the current highly confrontational National Assembly situation makes it difficult for the president to attend the policy address. On the 1st, at the National Assembly's Steering Committee audit, Chief Presidential Secretary Jeong Jin-seok responded to Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi's question about President Yoon's attendance at the policy address by saying, "As of now, it is understood that the Prime Minister will attend," and added, "The president's policy address does not occur every year, and there have been cases where the Prime Minister has delivered it instead."
On the same day, a presidential office official said, "It is understood that the president will not attend next year's budget policy address due to the National Assembly situation," but also noted, "We are internally deliberating intensely on ways to address shortcomings amid the president's low approval ratings and the serious situation." The official added, "Around the end of this month, marking the halfway point of the term, there will be an opportunity for the president to directly explain national issues."
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