Next year’s government reserve fund slashed by 2.4 trillion won

The Democratic Party of Korea has halved next year’s government reserve fund in the National Assembly’s Budget and Settlement Subcommittee of the Planning and Finance Committee. In the Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee, budgets for key projects were also significantly cut. The Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway budget, controversial due to alleged preferential treatment for First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s family, was removed entirely, while the Seoul Yongsan Park project’s budget was cut by over half. The People Power Party walked out in protest of these cuts.

At the Budget Subcommittee meeting, the Democratic Party reduced the government’s original 4.8 trillion won reserve fund proposal by half. The government had raised the reserve fund by 600 billion won (14.3%), citing international uncertainties like the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The Democratic Party argued that the reserve fund expanded too much under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, particularly noting that it was only 3 trillion won before the pandemic. A Democratic Party official added that controversies over using the emergency reserve for presidential travel also justified a reduction.

The People Power Party protested the cuts, exiting without voting, which disrupted the planned Finance and Strategy Committee meeting for budget processing. The Ministry of Finance also opposed the cut, expressing disagreement over the extent of the reduction and concerns regarding the bipartisan budget agreement.

In the Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties approved a revised bill cutting 22.98 billion won from the Yongsan Park development project budget of 41.66 billion won, while the People Power Party again walked out. The opposition held that further funding is inappropriate until safety issues at the Yongsan Children’s Garden are resolved. The 6.24 billion won budget for the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway was also entirely removed. A Democratic Party official explained that this year’s allocated 6.1 billion won for the expressway project had gone unused, deeming additional funds unnecessary.


윤명진 기자 mjlight@donga.com