Government Criticizes Opposition's Unilateral Budget Cut
"Golden Time to Boost Industrial Competitiveness Will Be Missed"
Concerns Over Public Safety, Vulnerable Groups, and Livelihood Economy
"No Free Recovery for Livelihoods... Budget Cuts Must Be Withdrawn"
The ruling Democratic Party, which unilaterally passed a reduced budget bill at the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, faced strong criticism from the government on the 2nd as it announced the bill's passage in the plenary session. The government expressed concerns that such budget processing is unprecedented in constitutional history and, if realized, would increase economic risks due to external uncertainties. It also urged the opposition party to engage in negotiations, stating that the national budget approval should ideally be achieved through bipartisan agreement.
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance (center), is announcing the government's position, including issues with the opposition party's unilateral budget reduction proposal, on the 2nd at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Attending the joint briefing were Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety; Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare; Oh Young-joo, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; and Bang Ki-moon, Director of the National Budget Coordination Office.
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, held a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul in the morning to announce the joint stance of government ministries regarding the opposition party's unilateral budget reduction. Attending the briefing were Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety; Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare; Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups; and Bang Ki-seon, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi said, "While the world is in a silent war, the major opposition party is only focused on political strife, holding the budget hostage and refusing to provide the desperately needed bullets to our companies." He added, "As the minister responsible for the national budget, I express deep regret over the opposition party's irresponsible unilateral processing."
Earlier, the opposition party unilaterally passed a reduced budget bill to prevent the original budget proposal submitted by the government for next year from being automatically submitted to the plenary session. The budget size processed by the opposition party was KRW 677.4 trillion, reduced by KRW 4.1 trillion from the government's original proposal. This is the first time the opposition party has unilaterally processed a reduced budget bill in the Budget and Accounts Committee.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi criticized the opposition party's move, saying it "will further increase risks to our economy, which is in a more severe situation than ever due to external uncertainties." He emphasized, "The damage will directly fall on our citizens and companies." He also explained, "The capacity to respond to domestic and international adversities will decrease, and the amplification of uncertainties will undermine trust in our fiscal management capabilities, potentially damaging the nation's credibility."
Choi argued, "We will miss the golden time to enhance industrial competitiveness amid intensifying global competition." He pointed out, "The opposition party's budget cuts government budgets for creating an industrial ecosystem, such as the Innovation Growth Fund, and also reduces funding for government-funded research institutes and future growth engine R&D. The contingency fund is also cut to about half." He added, "Even if urgent industrial and trade changes occur, timely responses will become difficult."
Choi emphasized, "The government promised financial support last month for essential infrastructure such as power grids for semiconductor clusters and expansion of AI computing infrastructure. If the opposition party passes the reduced budget, this promise cannot be kept." He also stated, "The tax law amendments the opposition party seeks to pass exclude the expansion of tax support for national strategic technologies like semiconductors and AI, which had been tentatively agreed upon by both parties and the government, as well as measures to reduce burdens on small business owners and revitalize domestic demand."
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Economy and Finance, is announcing the government's position, including the issues of the opposition party's sole budget reduction proposal, on the 2nd at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Minister Lee said at the briefing, "The basic operating expenses of the Police Bureau, which were budgeted at about KRW 100 million, were completely cut for reasons that are hard to understand." He added, "The basic operating expenses of the Police Bureau are essential for organizational operation." He expressed concern, "Budgets necessary for preventing drug crimes, digital sex crimes, and cyber gambling, as well as safety management equipment, were also cut, which will cause difficulties in protecting public safety."
Minister Cho also mentioned, "If the opposition party's budget is finally approved, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's budget will be reduced by KRW 165.5 billion compared to the government proposal, worsening difficulties for vulnerable groups." Minister Oh emphasized, "Amid growing difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners, the budget reduction decision is expected to negatively affect the already struggling livelihood economy."
Deputy Prime Minister Choi said, "The national budget approval is a significant decision that greatly affects citizens' lives, the national economy as a whole, and every region across the country, so it is a desirable budget decision process that should be made through bipartisan agreement." He added, "The economy does not operate on its own, and livelihoods do not recover for free. I urge the opposition party to withdraw the unprecedented unilateral budget reduction and engage in sincere negotiations even now."
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