Democratic Party's Cho Seungrae Proposes Budget Increase
Last Year's 8.25 Billion Won Allocation Was Completely Cut
People Power Party Calls Only for Restoration of Prosecution and Board of Audit and Inspection Budgets
The special activity expenses for the presidential office, which were cut during last year's budget review process, are now being considered for an increase during the National Assembly's review of the second supplementary budget for this year. Although the budget proposal initially submitted by the government did not include these expenses, the Democratic Party of Korea has called for an increase in the special activity budget.
According to the review materials from the Supplementary Budget Adjustment Subcommittee of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on July 2, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Seungrae requested an increase in special activity expenses for the presidential office, the prosecution, and the Ministry of Justice.
On the 28th, Park Jung, the chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, is striking the gavel at the National Assembly. On this day, a comprehensive policy inquiry is being conducted to review the supplementary budget proposal of 12.2 trillion won submitted by the government. April 28, 2025 Photo by Kim Hyunmin
Regarding the operational support expenses of the presidential office, Representative Cho stated, "Special activity expenses are costs directly required for activities of the Presidential Secretariat and the National Security Office that are linked to the national interest and security, and require a high level of confidentiality. An increase is necessary to ensure smooth state management." Previously, on November 21, 2024, the Democratic Party had completely cut the special activity expenses of 8.251 billion won for the Presidential Secretariat and the National Security Office during the National Assembly's Steering Committee meeting. While Representative Cho expressed support for an increase, he did not specify the requested amount.
Representative Cho also called for an increase in the special activity expenses for the prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection. The Democratic Party had also completely cut the budgets for the prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection during last year's budget review, just as it did for the presidential office. Notably, the People Power Party has advocated for the restoration of special activity expenses for the prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection, but not for the presidential office.
Members of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts from the People Power Party stated regarding the prosecution's special activity expenses, "These are costs directly required for national affairs such as information gathering and case investigations that require confidentiality, and an increase in special activity expenses for the prosecution is necessary to support investigations into crimes that harm people's livelihoods, such as drug offenses and voice phishing, as well as enforcement activities to ensure public safety and support for people's livelihoods." They added, "It is necessary to allocate 4.04 billion won, which is 50% of the amount in last year's government budget proposal." Regarding the Board of Audit and Inspection's special activity expenses, they stated, "These are compensation expenses for information activities submitted by Board of Audit and Inspection employees (about 100,000 won per person per month), and an increase is needed to provide rewards to information providers and to maintain and manage the information network." They emphasized, "It is necessary to allocate 759 million won, which is 50% (six months' worth) of the 1.59 billion won in the government's main budget proposal for 2025."
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