Ruling and opposition parties agree on the 2024 budget

The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea have agreed on the 2024 budget, settling on a total of 657 trillion won. Instead of implementing a 4.2 trillion won reduction from the initial government proposal, the government conceded to a 4.2 trillion won increase as demanded by the National Assembly. While the ruling and opposition parties were initially scheduled to deliberate on the budget bill on Wednesday afternoon, discussions were delayed. As a resolution, both parties decided to convene an additional plenary session to process the budget and ancillary bills together. Although a worst-case scenario was narrowly avoided, the budget bill is now set to be 19 days overdue, surpassing the statutory due date of December 2. This marks the second-most delayed budget bill since the implementation of provisions for the improvement of the National Assembly.

PPP floor leader Yoon Jae-ok and Democratic Party floor leader Hong Ik-pyo held a meeting at the National Assembly and concurred on the aforementioned agreement. Notably, the R&D budget, a point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties, saw an increase of 600 billion won. The Saemangeum-related budget also received a net increase of 300 billion won. The budget allocation for the so-called “Lee Jae-myung budget” related to regional gift certificates, which was initially entirely cut, was reinstated with a 300 billion won allocation during the discussions between the ruling and opposition parties. It was emphasized that the sovereign debt and the size of government bond issuance would not exceed the government’s proposal, underscoring the resolute commitment of the government and the ruling party to maintain a sound fiscal policy.

The PPP floor leader acknowledged the bipartisan efforts and compromises, recognizing the pressing need and urgency for the budget bill’s passage amidst the economic challenges faced by the Korean people and the nation. He also expressed regret for not meeting the due date.

The Democratic Party floor leader commented that while the agreement on the budget bill may not fully meet the opposition party’s standards, the bipartisan efforts to negotiate the best possible deal are deemed meaningful.


mjlight@donga.com