Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Main opposition may support 3rd expansionary budget
A flag celebrating the opening of the 21st National Assembly hangs at the parliament's main hall, Monday. Yomhap
By Do Je-hae
By Do Je-hae
Kim Chong-in, head of the main opposition United Future Party's (UFP) emergency committee for reform, said Monday that he will make the party more policy oriented.
His pledge reflects widespread public recognition that the party just criticizes anything the liberal ruling bloc seeks without presenting any alternative ― which was partly the cause of the UFP's crushing defeat in the April 15 general election.
“Through the emergency committee, we will become more forward-looking and aim to play a leading role in creating policies,” Kim said during his first meeting of committee members at the National Assembly.
The veteran economist accepted the post late last month after weeks of controversy within and outside the party about whether he was the right person to rebuild the main opposition.
Under the slogan “Accompanying the weak,” the committee said Kim will shift the party's focus to welfare for the socially weak, from the growth-oriented economy the conservative party has sought.
Kim underscored responses to the post-COVID-19 era as the most urgent task for his party. “People are very anxious about the future because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “Our country has been relatively successful in protecting the people's health, but many of the social-economic challenges presented by the crisis are very severe.
“We want to see the government produce more balanced policies for the wide-ranging impact of COVID-19 on our economy and society, rather than focusing solely on quarantine,” he added, saying he will present more specific plans about what his party will do in this regard during the committee's next meeting.
The meeting came hours before President Moon Jae-in presided over an Economic Emergency Council meeting to discuss a third extra budget to revive the economy, the job market and exports.
Moon has solicited bipartisan support from the new National Assembly for passing the budget bill soon. Last week he invited the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the UFP to a lunch at Cheong Wa Dae to call for their support for the third expansionary budget, which has been virtually absent. The Moon administration is hoping to get the budget bill passed this month to provide swift aide to sectors and people hit by the pandemic.
FPresident Moon Jae-in, right, takes a stroll at Cheong Wa Dae after a lunch with Joo Yo-young, left, floor leader of the main opposition United Future Party; and Kim Tae-nyeon, center, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), May 28. Yonhap
Kim said that his party will support the bill if it is drawn up on “reasonable grounds.”
“The role of fiscal policy has become bigger in the COVID-19 crisis,” Kim said. “If the third extra budget is made with reasonable grounds, we may have to cooperate.”
Kim also named some key posts in his committee, Monday. As spokeswoman, he named Rep. Kim Eun-hye, who formerly served as spokeswoman for former President Lee Myung-bak.