Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, noted on the 4th that he would promote voucher support worth up to 2 million won per person for small businesses to improve aging facilities and purchase equipment. This expands upon the previously announced 1 million won energy voucher and includes a 'small business targeted support plan.' He stated that approximately 3 trillion won would be allocated for the related budget.
That morning, at a National Assembly meeting, Kweon noted, "We will support part of the expenses for improving aging facilities and purchasing equipment for small businesses in the form of vouchers worth up to 2 million won."
This is in addition to the introduction of the 1 million won energy voucher for small businesses and the issuance of prepaid cards worth up to 500,000 won to stimulate consumption among vulnerable groups.
Kweon emphasized, "We need freedom in the market, efficiency in taxes, warm protection for vulnerable groups, and taxpayers' money must be used efficiently," adding, "We must protect vulnerable groups and inject vitality back into the stagnant economy."
Pointing to the Democratic Party, he accused them of obstructing people's livelihoods by refusing discussions on the supplementary budget.
Kweon claimed that the meeting of the ruling and opposition parties on livelihood legislation and supplementary budget discussions was undermined by the Democratic Party's refusal on the 28th of last month, stating, "The Democratic Party ultimately kicked away the livelihoods of the people."
He criticized, "While opposing the tax cut on inheritance tax claiming it is a 'rich man's tax cut', they insist on providing even '250,000 won' subsidies to the wealthy. They argue that more support is needed for the energy voucher announced by the People Power Party, yet they walked away from negotiations to discuss this."
He stated that the budget for the 'three types of targeted support for small businesses' is expected to be around 3 trillion won. After the National Assembly meeting, Kweon told reporters, "We have announced a set of three types, but if it's expanded, it would be around 3 trillion won," adding, "The universal support the Democratic Party claims costs about 13 trillion won. Compared to that, this is a very small budget and an absolutely necessary one."
In response to criticism that expanding cash-based budgets could lead to side effects such as inflation, he reiterated, "The basic direction of the supplementary budget is to support new growth engines and assist vulnerable groups to safeguard the livelihoods of the economy. It is the state's duty to take care of the citizens who fall behind in the competitive process," affirming the need for support.