Seoul: The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) announced on Sunday its intention to introduce a reduced budget bill for 2025 during a plenary session of the National Assembly this week. This decision comes after the party successfully pushed the budget proposal through a parliamentary committee, despite a boycott by the ruling party.

According to Yonhap News Agency, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae revealed the plan shortly after the party, which holds a majority in parliament, managed to advance the 2025 budget bill through the parliamentary special committee on budget and accounts. This advancement occurred despite strong objections from the ruling People Power Party. The proposed budget for the coming year stands at 677.4 trillion won (approximately US$485.3 billion), marking a reduction of 4.1 trillion won from the government’s initial proposal.

Park explained during a press conference that the DP’s decision to present the downsized budget bill at the plenary meeting on Monday was necessary, given the le
gal deadline for its passage. He described the measure as “extraordinary,” aimed at “normalizing” state financial management. The DP’s initiative focuses on preventing tax cuts for the superrich and reducing budgets for powerful state agencies.

The budget cuts will impact the allocation for special activity expenses of the presidential office’s secretariat, national security office, prosecution, state audit agency, and police. Additionally, the government’s reserve fund will be reduced from 4.8 trillion won to 2.4 trillion won.

The ruling party has criticized the DP’s move, accusing it of “neutralizing the functions of the prosecution, the police, and the state audit agency” by implementing such budget cuts. They allege that the vote primarily aims to protect DP leader Lee Jae-myung, who is currently facing several trials.

Despite the tensions, Park mentioned the possibility of revising the budget bill, indicating that there is room for further negotiation if the government and the ruling party demonstrate
a cooperative stance. The statutory deadline for approving the national budget is December 2, although the National Assembly has only managed to meet this deadline twice in the past twenty years.