Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Park's welfare pledges in limbo
The Strategy and Finance Committee was deserted Wednesday as ruling and opposition parties failed to agree on deliberating an extra 6 trillion won ($5.5 billion) for President-elect Park Geun-hye’s welfare pledges stalled due to disagreements. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
President-elect Park Geun-hye is facing a major task of securing money to keep her welfare pledges that she said would be “possible without raising taxes.”
The pledges include cutting delinquent borrowers’ debts by 50 to 70 percent, providing free childcare for children up to age 5, halving college tuition, and the list goes on. However, an open question remains as to how she will plug the gaping hole in the government’s finances without burdening taxpayers.
The President-elect’s spokesman Park Seon-kyu said Wednesday that Park will keep her word because people voted for her based on it, noting that “Park made only feasible pledges.”
Nevertheless, the challenges started testing Park’s leadership as the ruling and opposition parties have failed to reach an agreement on the national budget for next year, stuck on whether to add 6 trillion won ($5.5 billion) to cover Park’s welfare pledges to it.
Since the first attempt to complete the budget at the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee meeting failed, Nov. 22, the discord has remained unresolved without any sign of progress.
Lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party have claimed issuing government bonds is necessary to fulfill the pledges, while their opposition counterparts say the government should raise taxes on the rich.
Appearing on the MBC Radio program, “Son Suk-hee’s Spotlight,” the Democratic United Party (DUP) lawmaker Choi Jae-sung said issuing government bonds “has to be considered very carefully,” criticizing the ruling party for failing to provide a specific road map.
“They just brought up the need for debt without saying where they will spend the money and how to pay this off later through raising taxes,” Choi said.
The Saenuri Party Rep. Shin Eui-jin said Wednesday the issue of adding an extra 6 trillion won is “closely related to many people’s matters” such as household debt, urging the opposition to compromise.
Shin also denied the DUP’s allegation that the money is for bestowing favors on local supporters.
The quarrel between the two parties is only the tip of a far larger iceberg that will continuously challenge the incoming leader as many other interest groups are posed to pressure Park and the ruling party if some pledges are not met.
To keep her pledges, Park has to figure out how to “raise 48 trillion won without raising taxes,” as she promised, amid global economic gloom.
Meanwhile, the government failed to persuade the National Taxi Drivers’ Union to agree to a special law that would guarantee LGP prices and higher taxi fares, instead of its initial pledge of recognizing taxis as public transportation.
The Saenuri Party promised Oct. 26 to fulfill the pledge by the end of this month, however, the bus drivers’ union has threatened to go on strike if the party goes through with it.