As the scale of damage from the wildfires increases, both the ruling and opposition parties have raised their voices in unison, stating that additional funding for disaster relief and recovery should be included in the supplementary budget. However, disagreements regarding the restoration of the 'disaster reserve fund' are expected to lead to difficulties in reaching an agreement on the supplementary budget.
On the 27th, discussions about the supplementary budget, which had been pushed aside by political issues including the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol, reignited as consensus emerged between the ruling and opposition parties on the need for a recovery budget for the wildfire damage. However, a power struggle continues regarding the scale and specifics of the supplementary budget.
The People Power Party believes it is necessary to restore the 'disaster reserve fund' that was cut from this year's budget.
Kim Sang-hoon, the Policy Chairperson of the People Power Party, pointed out during a party emergency response committee meeting that 'while the Democratic Party is fixated on distributing money to both high-income and low-income individuals through a 'consumer coupon for recovery,' it opposes the supplementary budget for the disaster reserve fund, arguing that there are insufficient reserves.' This was a direct shot at the Democratic Party, which handled last year's budget cut alone.
According to the government, this year's reserve fund totals 2.4 trillion won, which includes 1.6 trillion won for specific purposes and 800 billion won as a general reserve fund. The Democratic Party cut half of the total reserve fund when they handled this year's budget alone at the end of last year.
The People Power Party pointed out that among the 1.6 trillion won designated reserve fund, 1.3 trillion won is prioritized for free high school education and free early childhood education, leaving only 300 billion won available for disaster response. In particular, during the major wildfire in Gangwon Province in March 2022, 417 billion won was spent on recovery, and they believe that given the much greater human and material damage from the recent 'wildfire incident,' restoration of the reserve fund and an increase in funding is unavoidable.
The 'Special Committee for Disaster Response to Wildfires,' which held its first meeting that day, also decided to consider expanding the disaster reserve fund significantly in the supplementary budget proposal. Chairperson Lee Man-hee stated, 'It is expected that a significant amount of reserves will be needed for disaster response. If the supplementary budget is realized, we will work with the opposition party to explore ways to substantially increase the reserve fund.' The People Power Party plans to hold a high-level party meeting as early as the 28th to discuss the scale and specific items of the supplementary budget.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party agrees to allocate disaster response funds in the supplementary budget but opposes the need to restore the disaster reserve fund. Jin Seong-jun, the Policy Chairperson of the Democratic Party, stated at a policy coordination meeting that 'the People Power Party is using the wildfire as a pretext to threaten the restoration of the 2 trillion won reserve fund that was cut.' He rebutted, asking, 'Is the government trying to secure budget for the rebellion and emergency legislative body, as President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy during the night of the rebellion?'
The Democratic Party believes they can respond adequately by utilizing the 360 billion won disaster response budget allocated to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the 100 billion won disaster response budget allocated to the Korea Forest Service, and the 1.6 trillion won designated reserve fund, alongside 1.5 trillion won in disaster response national government obligations.
Additionally, they have allocated 900 billion won as a national safety budget in the supplementary budget plan announced last February, positioning themselves to quickly commence discussions on the supplementary budget. They also see the need for funding to bring in advanced firefighting equipment such as rescue robots, establish a smart integrated management system for forest disasters, and implement disaster response measures utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), prompted by the recent wildfire damage.
As such, with both ruling and opposition parties at an impasse regarding the disaster reserve fund, the prospects for resuming in-depth discussions at the government-opposition state council remain uncertain.
Previously, the opposition party excluded acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who was not appointing Justice Kim Maun-hyeok, from discussions at the state council. Subsequently, it was replaced with a working council involving Vice Minister-level participants, but progress has not been made in the discussions.
The government is reportedly in a position that it cannot quickly prepare the supplementary budget without an agreement from the state council. A key official from the People Power Party noted, 'It seems that (the government) finds it illogical to push for a supplementary budget while pursuing impeachment against the final overall responsibility for budget preparation.' It appears that there will be underground contacts soon.
However, given the significant issue of the impeachment trial decision regarding President Yoon, even if the government's supplementary budget is submitted, there are expectations that the National Assembly's review process will not proceed smoothly.