Opposition party pushes through livelihood support act

The bill for livelihood recovery support, which provides up to 350,000 won to every citizen, passed the National Assembly's plenary session on Friday. This move is expected to provoke strong opposition from the ruling party over President Yoon Suk Yeol's right to veto. The Presidential Office suggested exercising the veto, arguing that forcing the administration to allocate the budget through legislation is unconstitutional since budgetary power belongs to the government. The opposition Democratic Party warned that such a veto would incite public resentment, portraying the president and the ruling party as out of touch with the people's struggles.

This 2024 Special Measures Act for Livelihood Recovery Subsidies stipulates that all citizens will receive subsidies between 250,000 and 350,000 won in the form of local currency coupons. The amount will be determined by presidential decree according to income levels, and the payment timing is set for three months after the law is promulgated. The law also includes a clause requiring the local currency coupons to be used within four months. The Democratic Party estimates that approximately 13 trillion won will be needed to implement the act.

The bill was introduced by Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as the first party platform bill for the 22nd National Assembly. Livelihood recovery support was a major campaign pledge for Lee during the general election in April. Lee proposed the bill to President Yoon during their official meeting immediately after the election, but Yoon refused it. Despite opposition from the government and the ruling party, the opposition pushed the bill through the Standing Committee, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and the plenary session stages. Key Democratic Party officials stated that Lee consistently suggested through various meetings, including summit talks, that there was room to adjust the targets and scale of the subsidies if necessary, but the government and ruling party consistently ignored these efforts. They emphasized that they could no longer wait, considering the economic crisis and people's difficult livelihoods.

Sources within the Democratic Party expect President Yoon to veto the subsidy bill along with others, holding the administration and the ruling party solely accountable for ignoring the people's hardships.


Sung-Hwi Kang yolo@donga.com