Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Rival parties lock horns over 2025 budget, state auditor chief's impeachment
The National Assembly passes a revised bill that allows doctors to disclose the sex of unborn children before 32 weeks of pregnancy, Monday. Yonhap
By Kwak Yeon-soo
National Assembly speaker delays tabling of budget bill, calls on parties to reach agreement
Rival parties clashed during a plenary parliamentary session, Monday, over the National Assembly’s decisions to postpone tabling a budget bill for next year and introduce a motion to impeach the chief state auditor and three prosecutors related to the relocation of the presidential office and first lady investigation.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announced the delay of presenting the bill at around noon, just two hours ahead of the plenary session, asking rival parties to reach an agreement by Dec. 10 — the last day of the parliamentary regular session that kicked off in September. His remarks came after holding separate meetings with floor leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).
“After much consideration, we have decided not to present the budget bill at today’s plenary session. I sternly urge the ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement by Dec. 10,” Woo said during an emergency press conference, Monday, stressing that a swift handling of the budget should be the Assembly's top priority in the wake of an economic crisis.
The decision came after the DPK, which holds 170 of the 300 Assembly seats, railroaded the 2025 budget proposal through a parliamentary committee last week despite opposition from the PPP. The budget proposal amounts to 677.4 trillion won ($482 billion), 4.1 trillion won less than the government’s initial proposal.
It includes cuts to the special activity budgets of the presidential office and the National Security Office, as well as specific operational and special activity expenses for the prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea. It also cut the government’s reserve fund in half from 4.8 trillion won to 2.4 trillion won.
Earlier in the morning, the PPP held a general meeting of its lawmakers to discuss measures to counter the DPK’s unilateral push to pass the downsized budget proposal and visited Woo’s office in protest.
“The DPK’s push to unilaterally pass the downsized budget bill is aimed at paralyzing the government,” PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon said during a Supreme Council meeting.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok accused the DPK of politicizing the proposal despite ongoing bipartisan negotiations.
"We express deep regret over the DPK’s irresponsible action of railroading a downsized budget bill for next year. The world is waging a war without gunfire, but the opposition is holding the budget hostage for political gains. The party’s plan consists of many problems that may present challenges to the people’s lives and our economy," Choi said during a press conference.
The DPK, on the other hand, expressed strong regret over Woo’s decision to delay tabling the opposition-led budget bill.
“The government and the ruling party are only interested in securing special activity expenses. It is questionable whether things will change if the negotiation period is extended,” Rep. Park Chan-dae of the DPK said.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik speaks during an emergency press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
At the plenary session in the afternoon, the DPK reported impeachment motions against Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chair Choe Jae-hae and three prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, including its chief Lee Chang-soo. The impeachment motion will be put to a plenary vote on Wednesday.
The DPK took issue with Choe’s audit of the presidential residence relocation and alleged violations of the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly, such as failing to submit requested materials during parliamentary hearings.
It also accused the three prosecutors of failing to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme.
Earlier in the morning, the BAI held a press conference, urging the DPK to halt its impeachment attempt of its chief over issues related to the relocation of the presidential office.
"We are a constitutionally independent body. We earnestly request the DPK to immediately stop the impeachment attempt against our chief,” said Choi Dal-young, secretary general of the BAI.