Chairman Woo Won-sik's Proposal for 'Budget Bill' Meeting... Opposition Park Chan-dae "Room for Further Negotiation"

Democratic Party Agrees to 2-Year Postponement on Cryptocurrency Regulation

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that there is "room for additional negotiations" regarding the next year's budget proposal during a dinner meeting of floor leaders from both ruling and opposition parties, which was proposed by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik.

Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (third from the left), is speaking at a press briefing held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News

At a press conference held on the 1st at the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Seoul, Floor Leader Park criticized, "The government's proposed budget for next year will further deteriorate fiscal revenue from the start," adding, "In short, it is a budget for ultra-rich tax cuts far removed from the livelihood of the people and a budget that abandons the future." He continued, "Since an agreement with the ruling party failed and the Ministry of Economy and Finance did not agree to an increase, we have no choice but to submit a reduced budget proposal to the plenary session tomorrow, which is the legal deadline," and explained, "The supplementary budget bills will also be processed at tomorrow's plenary session."

Floor Leader Park disagreed with the People Power Party's claim that this reduced budget proposal is a "shield for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung." He said, "In previous governments, there has never been a case where more than 1.5 trillion won was used from the contingency fund, yet the Yoon Seok-yeol administration allocated as much as 4.8 trillion won," adding, "The Democratic Party's cuts to the contingency fund and special activity expenses are extraordinary measures to normalize the country's mismanaged finances."

However, similar to the abolition of the financial investment income tax, he agreed to the People Power Party's demand to postpone cryptocurrency taxation for two years. Floor Leader Park stated, "Leader Lee agreed to abolish the financial investment income tax," and added, "Regarding the two-year postponement of cryptocurrency taxation, after deep discussions, we believe additional institutional adjustments are necessary."

He also expressed willingness to participate in the dinner meeting of floor leaders from both parties proposed by Speaker Woo. Floor Leader Park explained, "If necessary, under the mediation of the National Assembly Speaker, floor leaders from both parties will meet to see if there are additional points to discuss," and added, "If the government and ruling party show a progressive attitude, there is definitely room for further negotiations."