Rival parties seek pork spending ahead of elections

While the parliamentary budget committee started reviewing next year’s budget bill, on Monday speculation was mounting that parties excessively upped the allocation to new roads construction and welfare projects in an attempt to coax voters ahead of next year’s elections.

According to the preparatory reports submitted on Sunday, the 15 standing parliamentary committees raised the budget total by 8.65 trillion won ($7.6 billion), 2.7 percent up from the original amount suggested by the government earlier in September.

The parliamentary land committee, which asked for an additional 3.53 trillion won, included 20 construction projects in its budget report, most concerning the building of new roads.

None, however, were included in the original bill submitted by the government, which vowed to invest more on essential welfare systems than social overhead capital in the upcoming year.

There are currently more than 400 ongoing road-related construction or remodeling projects, which will already take up to seven or eight years to see completion, according to ministry officials.

Observers suspected that lawmakers sought to catch the attention of their constituencies by planning to build new roads or facilities in the area.

Parties also rushed to boost the budgets on welfare projects, which have risen as a key variable in political races.

The government allocated 2.97 trillion won in old age pension but the parliamentary welfare committee upped the amount by 587 billion won.

It also lifted the level of subsidies for senior citizen centers by 147 billion won, a move likely to appeal to elderly voters whose influence is considerable in nationwide votes.

The budget increase raised concerns that populist projects may worsen the country’s fiscal state, especially as experts predicted next year’s economic growth rates to remain barely above 3 percent.

While lawmakers faced the blame, the special committee on budget and accounts pledged to review and pass the budget bill by next Friday and meet the given deadline.

“The current National Assembly, over the past three years, has not only failed to meet the deadline but also let down the people,” said Rep. Jeong Kab-yoon, chairman of the committee and lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party.

“We will make sure that the reviewed budget reflects the people’s requirements.”

Rep. Kang Gi-jung, chief negotiator of the main opposition Democratic Party vowed to abide by the budget bill schedule, regardless of the ongoing free trade ratification dispute.

Related subcommittees are scheduled to finish reviewing the budget bills by next Tuesday and bring the bill to the committee’s general meeting on Wednesday, before delivering it to the parliament’s plenary session on Friday, according to officials.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)