Assembly speaker postpones downsized 2025 budget bill

Dec 03, 2024, 10:17 am

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Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok (left), who also serves as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, shakes hands with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 2, 2024./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Han-sol

The downsized 2025 budget bill has been eventually delayed. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik repeatedly urged the ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement by next Tuesday.

“The budget bill approved by the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts is submitted to the plenary session, but after much consideration, we have decided not to present the budget bill at today’s plenary session,” Woo said during a press briefing at the National Assembly on Monday.

Before the press briefing, Woo met with the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties separately to share opinions.

“Speaker Woo mainly listened to ruling People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, who said the meeting was meaningless unless the Democratic Party apologize for and withdraw the unilateral budget reduction,” said Park Tae-so, senior press secretary for the National Assembly speaker’s office.

The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a parliament majority, pushed the 2025 budget bill through the parliamentary special commit on budget and accounts. The proposal puts next year’s budget at 677.4 ($485.3 billion), down 4.1 trillion won from the initial plan proposed by the government. It is the first time that a budget reduction bill has been handled without an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties at the budget and accounts committee. According to the Constitution, the National Assembly must obtain approval from the government in order to increase the budget or create new budget items. However, the reduction is possible without the government’s consent.

The DP left the possibility of talks open, but the ruling party said it will not engage in any negotiations unless the DP withdraws the budget bill. The bill should have been dealt with at the plenary session on Monday, the legal deadline, but there are exceptions. Under the National Assembly Act, the approval can be delayed if the speaker agrees with the representatives of each negotiating group. The budget bill was passed over the legal deadline in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Regarding the decision to postpone the budget proposal, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said, “What would be the difference if the government gave more time to focus on protecting special activity expenses and not increasing the budget? Still, we will do our best within the deadline.”

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