SEOUL– President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday no conditions should be attached to his parliamentary budget speech scheduled for this week, as the main opposition Democratic Party threatens to boycott it unless Yoon apologizes for what the party calls suppression of the opposition.
The DP is also demanding that Yoon agree to an independent counsel probe into a corruption scandal that prosecutors have been investigating and that led to the arrest of a key confidant of DP leader Lee Jae-myung, before Yoon delivers the budget speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
“The Constitution guarantees the president’s right to speak at the National Assembly, and the National Assembly Act requires parliament to listen to the budget speech when a budget proposal is submitted,” Yoon told reporters as he arrived for work, adding the rival parties had agreed on Tuesday as the date.
“Adding some sort of additional conditions to that is something I don’t think I’ve heard of in the history of our constitutional government, as far as I can recall,” he said.
The DP has strongly protested the prosecution’s investigation into the corruption scandal amid concern the probe is zeroing in on Lee. On Saturday, Kim Yong, one of Lee’s closest confidants, was arrested on charges of taking illegal political funds.
Prosecutors suspect the money was used for Lee’s election campaign.
Lee and his party have called for a special prosecutor investigation into the case, claiming that the scandal also involves those close to Yoon.
The DP held a general meeting of party lawmakers later Monday and resolved not to “accept” Yoon’s speech, though it stopped short of announcing a boycott.
The presidential office reiterated that it is the duty of the National Assembly to listen to the government’s plans on how it plans to use taxpayer money.
“As President Yoon said this morning, the budget speech is a duty stipulated by the Constitution and the law,” a presidential official told reporters. “In that sense, we just hope that tomorrow’s budget speech will proceed smoothly.”
On whether Prime Minister Han Duck-soo could read the speech on Yoon’s behalf, the official said nothing has been finalized.
“The situation at the National Assembly is very fluid, so we’re watching the situation closely,” he said.
Yoon’s Q&A with reporters had also touched on economic issues, including Sunday’s announcement of the government’s plan to expand funding for liquidity programs to at least 50 trillion won (US$34.7 billion) to help calm the corporate bond and commercial paper markets.
“We determined that such swift and large-scale market stabilization measures will above all be of great help in easing the financial difficulties of small and medium-sized firms, so they will be executed promptly starting today,” he said.
Yoon further emphasized his administration’s zero tolerance policy for loan sharks, saying the government will carry out tough crackdowns on predatory and illegal private lenders.
Source: Yonhap News Agency