Opposition-railroaded revision to stall and politicize annual budget proposal

Lee Jae-myung, center, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Friday. Yonhap

A power struggle between the country’s two main parties is expected to intensify, as indicated by the main opposition railroading a revision that no longer automatically tables government-drafted annual budget proposals at the Assembly plenary session once the Nov.30 deadline lapses, observers said Friday.

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) say the previous system remained in place at the expense of the principle of checks and balances, as evidenced by only around 1 percentage point revisions made to the finance ministry-drafted proposals. This essentially bypassed and undercut the opposition party’s role, reinforcing the policy initiatives of the government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP), it says.

However, the ruling party maintains the unilateral revision politicizes the budget review. It reverts a decade of efforts to minimize the Assembly gridlock, often characterized by embarrassing physical confrontation among lawmakers over specifics of the budget and the resulting delays in passage.

The extent of escalation in partisan conflict will be determined by the President Yoon Suk Yeol's veto of the revision, as recommended by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.

A photo of the National Assembly in session. Yonhap

“I am deeply concerned and cannot accept the development,” Choi said soon after the revision passed the Assembly, Thursday.

“I will recommend that President Yoon exercise veto to prevent the resumption of chronic delays in budget review, a source of diminished reputation with investors from within the country and abroad.”

The revision can be constitutionally challenged, Choi said.

The Assembly must approve the budget by Dec. 2 for prompt government implementation. However, the opposition party can now disregard this legal deadline, citing the revision.

“The revision allows a continued review of the budget long after Nov. 30 when Assembly standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Account are removed from the decision-making process,” he said.

Also threatened will be the guarantee of time to prepare for a thorough review of the budget.

“The government revised the related law in 2014 to mandate the submission of the budget a month earlier to secure enough time for a thorough review at the Assembly. However, the revision will remove the 30-day clause, certain to cause an extended deadlock every year.”

Subsequently delayed will be government social welfare spending for vulnerable low-income groups and state-run infrastructure projects. 

“Social welfare and infrastructure expenditures need to be finalized by the end of December, before the beginning of the fiscal year,” he said.

“Delays in the Assembly's approval of the budget over the past few years led to failures in timely assistance for the underprivileged.”