Gov’t, parties clash over welfare pledges

By Chung Min-uck

The government and political parties are locking horns over the flurry of welfare policies proposed by the latter ahead of the April 11 general election.

The conflict was sparked Monday after the Ministry of Strategy and Finance criticized the parties, projecting their welfare policies, if implemented, could cost the nation an additional 340 trillion won ($302 billion) over the next five years.

The finance ministry has set aside 92.6 trillion won for welfare programs out of total sum of 326 trillion won annual budget.

It also launched a task force to check on the feasibility of pre-election welfare policy promises.

“If the policies proposed by the political circles are to be enforced, the government will have to issue debt following a rapid rise in the welfare budget, which will eventually lead to either national bankruptcy or a greater tax burden on the younger generation,”said Kim Dae-ki, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, Tuesday, in light of the finance ministry’s speculation. “Any increase in the welfare budget should be in line with fiscal soundness.”

The Prime Minister Office also raised concern on the issue.

“I am worried that acting on such welfare will cost up to 340 trillion won for the next five years,” said Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik during a Cabinet meeting. Kim also ordered the finance ministry to take a principled approach to reckless welfare proposals raised by politicians.

As the elections near, welfare has become a key issue in wooing voters ahead of them. South Korea is to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in April and December.

Political parties including the ruling Saenuri Party have recently been shifting their policies leftward to cope with the growing frustration among voters who are suffering from the widening rich-poor gap and the lack of opportunities given to the low- and middle- income brackets.

The conservative party even revised its party platform last month putting social welfare and jobs policies as top priorities.

However, policymakers and the business circle downplayed the shift regarding it as more of a “populist move” to gain an upper hand in the elections.

Against this backdrop, political parties fired back in rare unison.

“It is not right for the administration to try to impose restrictions on political parties,”said Kim Chong-in, a ruling party emergency committee member who also heads the party’s subcommittee in charge of policy reforms. “The finance ministry was silent when President Lee Myung-bak announced the 747 policy during his campaign for the presidency. Also the Saenuri Party has yet to provide the cost of our welfare policies.”

The 747 policy ― seven percent of annual GDP growth, $40,000 in per capita GDP and entering the G7 ― was Lee’s flagship policy in the 2007 presidential election.

“The reason why we are proposing those welfare policies is because of the current administration’s policies in favor of big businesses,” said Rep. Lee Yong-sub, a policy committee chairman of the main opposition Democratic United Party. “It is not right for the government to criticize the political arena which is trying to solve the problems that it has made.”

President Lee is expected to counter the claims from the political parties in his special news conference slated for today.