Democratic Party Moves to Finalize 'Reduced Budget Plan'... Park Chandae Says "As Quickly As Possible"

Opposition Budget Committee Member: "No Budget Negotiation Without Yoon's Impeachment"
Park Floor Leader: "Must Eliminate Uncertainty to Minimize Confusion"
Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, to Meet Speaker Woo Won-sik on 9th

The Democratic Party of Korea is showing signs of finalizing a 'reduced budget bill' solely with the opposition if there is no discussion of impeaching President Yoon Seok-yeol. While the decision of Speaker Woo Won-sik remains pending, Park Jung, the Democratic Party member and chair of the Budget and Accounts Committee, maintains a hardline stance, stating, "There will be no budget negotiations without the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol."

On the morning of the 9th, Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, "'The Yoon Seok-yeol insurrection' has triggered and the uncertainty amplified by the failure of impeachment is having a serious adverse effect on the domestic economy." He added, "To minimize national chaos and harm to the people, uncertainty must be swiftly removed," and "The Democratic Party will pass next year's budget as quickly as possible so that the executive branch can prepare for state affairs in advance." This statement suggests an intention to proceed at full speed and even process the 2025 budget bill solely under the Democratic Party's control.

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Earlier, the Democratic Party forcibly passed a revised budget bill reflecting only 'reductions' from the 2025 budget submitted by the government at the Budget and Accounts Committee on the 29th of last month. The Democratic Party claimed this was to meet the legal deadline for budget approval, but it was an unprecedented event in history. On the 2nd, Speaker Woo Won-sik postponed the plenary session submission of the 'reduced budget bill' and instructed both parties to prepare a bipartisan agreement by the 10th. However, with the unfolding of the December 3 emergency martial law situation, negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties completely halted.

Democratic Party members of the Budget and Accounts Committee also linked the budget approval to President Yoon's impeachment. At a press conference on the 8th, Chair Park Jung and Democratic Party committee members said, "There will be no budget negotiations without President Yoon's impeachment," and asked, "Does the Democratic Party want to agree with an unconstitutional government that conspired in an insurrection?" In response, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, criticized, "The Democratic Party is threatening the people with the budget."

With the ruling and opposition parties' opinions diverging, the likelihood of the budget being processed according to the Democratic Party's position has increased. The Democratic Party also announced plans to further reduce 70 billion KRW from the Presidential Office budget, reflecting President Yoon's retreat to a secondary role.

People Power Party lawmakers, including Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho, are holding a picket protest in front of the National Assembly plenary session hall on the 2nd, condemning the Democratic Party of Korea's forced reduction of the budget bill. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Lee Sang-min, senior researcher at the Nara Salim Research Institute, described the budget situation as "clock zero," explaining, "After the insurrection and impeachment rejection, political resolution practices such as dialogue and compromise have ceased to function." The term 'clock zero' is a compound of the Korean word '시계 (sight/view)' and the English word 'zero,' meaning a situation where one cannot see even an inch ahead.

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, plans to visit the National Assembly that day to discuss the budget bill with Speaker Woo Won-sik.