W11tr extra budget plan submitted to Assembly

The government’s extra budget plan for the latter half of this fiscal year was submitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday as rival parties continued to debate over the scope and purpose of the 11 trillion-won ($9.64 billion) proposal.

The supplementary budget is part of the government’s 28 trillion-won stimulus package designed to prop up the sluggish economy and ease fallout from corporate restructuring in key industries such as shipbuilding.

The rival parties have tentatively agreed to pass the budget bill on Aug. 12, but they remain divided over the details. 

The ruling Saenuri Party has demanded the bill’s prompt passage to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, but opposition parties have vowed to scrutinize the budget and incorporate welfare into the plan.

“I don’t think we should agree unconditionally with the extra budget,” said Rep. Park Wan-joo, a deputy floor leader of The Minjoo Party of Korea. “The purpose of the budget plan is very ambiguous. It is unclear whether they target economic growth, restructuring industries and creating jobs,” he said.

The center-left party also demanded the extra budget include plans to finance a free child care program. They urged the government to either allocate part of this year’s supplementary budget to the subsidy program for children aged 3-5 or to set aside money in next year’s budget to fund the welfare scheme.

The Saenuri Party said that the supplementary budget should be implemented promptly and any debate over the child care program would hinder efforts to enact the plan in time. They added that local authorities can use government subsidies to fund the program on their own.

“The most important aspect of the budget plan is its timely implementation,” said Kim Jung-jae, a floor spokeswoman of the Saenuri Party. “If we miss the window of opportunity, efforts to create jobs and boost growth would be undermined,” she said. 

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)