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| Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a meeting at the National Assembly, Friday, urging parties to cooperate with passing the government supplementary budget plan. / Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
The government's supplementary budget plan, concentrated on creating jobs for young people, faces strong headwinds from opposition parties, while the ruling party is determined to push it through.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) vowed to block the extra budget bill, once it is submitted. The minor opposition Bareun Mirae Party (BMP) is also critical of any measures to spur growth by using taxpayer money.
On Thursday, the government announced a plan to set up an extra budget worth 3.9 trillion won ($3.7 billion), including 2.9 trillion won to create 50,000 jobs for young people. The country has set a supplementary budget for four consecutive years since 2015 amid sluggish economic growth.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) asked all political parties to cooperate for the approval of the extra budget plan as soon as possible, saying the budget will revitalize local economies as well as help young and unemployed people.
Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the ruling DPK, urged the Assembly to refrain from taking party-oriented attitudes against the extra budget plan and looked for cooperation.
"In order to prevent tragedy, it is necessary to take the pre-emptive action of passing the extra budget to revitalize youth employment and local economies," Choo said Friday.
"Timing is vital to maximize the effects of the budget. If the Assembly does its job, it will create a double effect."
However, the LKP loudly panned the supplementary budget plan as a ploy to win more votes in the upcoming local elections.
Ham Jin-gyu, policy chief of the LKP, said the government is using the extra budget to cover up the political failure of youth employment for the June 13 local elections.
"The supplementary budget plan is created to soothe young voters ahead of the elections," Ham said.
"The government should apologize first to the nation before submitting the supplementary budget proposal."
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| Bareun Mirae Party co-leader Yoo Seong-min, second from right, speaks during a meeting at the National Assembly, Friday. He opposes the government's extra budget plan, saying spending cannot drive growth./ Yonhap |
Meanwhile, the minor opposition BMP also denounced the government bill insisting the extra budget cannot help growth and create jobs for the young.
"The BMP pledges to stand against the extra budget proposal aiming to seek growth by mainly using taxes," BMP co-leader Yoo Seong-min said.
Passing the extra budget has been on the table for months but has been entangled with the contentious election debate.
The supplementary budget can be executed in May, following approval by the National Assembly.
try has set a supplementary budget for four consecutive years since 2015 amid sluggish economic growth.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) asked all political parties to cooperate for the approval of the extra budget plan as soon as possible, saying the budget will revitalize local economies as well as help young and unemployed people.
Choo Mi-ae, chairwoman of the ruling DPK, urged the Assembly to refrain from taking party-oriented attitudes against the extra budget plan and looked for cooperation.
"In order to prevent tragedy, it is necessary to take the pre-emptive action of passing the extra budget to revitalize youth employment and local economies," Choo said Friday.
"Timing is vital to maximize the effects of the budget. If the Assembly does its job, it will create a double effect."
However, the LKP loudly panned the supplementary budget plan as a ploy to win more votes in the upcoming local elections.
Ham Jin-gyu, policy chief of the LKP, said the government is using the extra budget to cover up the political failure of youth employment for the June 13 local elections.
"The supplementary budget plan is created to soothe young voters ahead of the elections," Ham said.
"The government should apologize first to the nation before submitting the supplementary budget proposal."
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