Minju "Late Supplementary Budget" vs. Gukim "Due to Budget Cuts"... Heated Debate Over Government's Supplementary Budget Proposal

National Assembly Interpellation on Economic Affairs
Ando Geol: "Complacent Perception of Reality Exposed"
Seo Beom-su: "An Apology Is Needed for Cutting the Contingency Fund"

On the 15th, regarding the government's plan to compile an additional supplementary budget (supplementary budget) worth 12 trillion won, the Democratic Party of Korea called it a "belated supplementary budget," while the People Power Party blamed it on "budget cuts," exchanging heated arguments.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ando Geol criticized during the economic sector government questioning session at the National Assembly, saying, "This supplementary budget compilation once again revealed the government's economic optimism and complacent perception of reality. Why was this urgent supplementary budget submitted only now?" calling it a belated supplementary budget.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jeong-ho also pointed out the government's belated supplementary budget. He emphasized, "Despite the difficulties in people's livelihoods and falling into a long-term recession, the government showed a passive attitude toward the supplementary budget for livelihood recovery" and added, "Only today, they presented a 12 trillion won wildfire disaster supplementary budget, striking late again."

Minju "Late Supplementary Budget" vs. Gukim "Due to Budget Cuts"... Heated Debate Over Government's Supplementary Budget Proposal

People Power Party lawmaker Seo Beom-su retorted, "(The Democratic Party) drastically cut the contingency fund in half during the passage of the previous budget," and questioned, "Shouldn't responsible figures reflect on or apologize for cutting the contingency fund?"

This implies that the Democratic Party is shifting responsibility for the severely insufficient contingency fund for disaster preparedness due to the reduced 2025 budget passed last December.

People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jong-wook also emphasized, "It was a budget that only passed with unprecedented cuts in the constitutional history," and added, "There was controversy over whether the contingency fund was insufficient during the wildfire response process."