Abolish the Automatic Referral System for Budget Bills
Amend the Local Allocation Tax Act and Local Education Finance Grant Act to Prohibit Withholding of Local Grants
Park Jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former chairman of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, proposed reform measures on June 10 to restore fiscal democracy. He called for the abolition of the automatic referral system for budget bills and the establishment of at least partial authority for the National Assembly to approve budget increases.
During a party countermeasures meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Park stated, "To achieve the complete restoration of democracy, we must properly establish fiscal democracy." He continued, "Although my term as chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts ended on May 29, I am proposing legislative tasks to restore fiscal democracy based on my one year of experience."
The National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts has officially begun reviewing increases and decreases in the budget based on the preliminary review results from each standing committee. Chairman Park Jung is presiding over the Budget Committee subcommittee on the 18th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
He first proposed abolishing the automatic referral system for budget bills. Park explained, "The National Assembly must recover its right to deliberate on the budget by abolishing the automatic referral system, which resulted in budget bills being automatically referred due to government rejection, so that the Assembly can meaningfully review and decide on the budget." He added, "This system, created by the National Assembly Advancement Act, is not an advancement, but rather a regression in budget deliberation."
He also suggested that the National Assembly should be granted, at least in a limited way, the right to request budget increases. He said, "By amending the National Finance Act, the government’s authority to approve increases should be restricted so that the National Assembly can increase funding for specific projects without requiring government consent."
In addition, he called for mandatory government reporting on contingency funds and for supplementary budgets to be required in the event of tax revenue discrepancies.
He further emphasized, "The Local Allocation Tax Act and the Local Education Finance Grant Act should be revised to prevent the Ministry of Economy and Finance from arbitrarily withholding local grants."
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