Tax Subcommittee for Next Year's Budget Tax Law Review 'Disrupted'... "Concluded After Opposition Party's Absence"

The Tax Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, which is set to review next year's tax laws, was canceled due to the absence of lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea.

On the 14th, Song Eon-seok, the chairman of the Planning and Finance Committee, is striking the gavel at the plenary session held at the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Park Soo-young, the senior member of the People Power Party on the Strategy and Finance Committee and chair of the Tax Subcommittee, said on the 14th, "We waited for 15 minutes, but since the opposition party did not attend, the meeting could proceed in discussion but could not make any decisions, so the subcommittee was adjourned." He added, "I hope opposition party members will attend tomorrow's subcommittee meeting so that serious discussions can take place."

Park also said, "There was no word on whether they would come or not, so we waited blindly for 15 minutes, but since they did not come, we had no choice but to adjourn."

The subcommittee was unable to even put forward agenda items. Park explained, "There needs to be an agreement between the senior members of both parties, but since the process was rushed, there was no time to reach an agreement."

Opposition lawmakers are interpreted to be protesting the surprise convening of the full Strategy and Finance Committee meeting the previous day, during which agenda items were processed. The Tax Subcommittee is scheduled to meet again on the 15th.

Meanwhile, the full Strategy and Finance Committee meeting has led to ongoing confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over issues such as the Democratic Party's unilateral passage of the budget bill, announcing the schedule just 3 minutes before the meeting, and concluding the meeting in 1 minute and 30 seconds the previous day.