Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, rebutted the ruling party's criticism that the party's budget cuts to disaster contingency funds are causing difficulties in responding to wildfires in the Gyeongbuk area. He argued that the budget is already sufficient and claimed that the ongoing chaos caused by wildfires is due to the government's incompetence in properly utilizing the ample contingency funds.
At a Supreme Council meeting held by the Democratic Party in Daejeon on the morning of the 28th, Lee stated, “The People Power Party is engaging in political strife even in the field where serious damage is being incurred and people are getting frustrated due to the wildfires,” and added, “They lie as if the budget has been cut and there is no budget to properly implement wildfire measures.”
Lee noted, “Regarding the budget, there is currently 4.87 trillion won allocated for national disaster contingency funds. What do they mean by a lack of budget?” and asked, “Has the government or ruling party even used a single won of contingency funds? They are lying that there is a lack of budget while executing only regular budgets without spending enormous budgets.”
He continued, “There are 970 billion won in contingency funds for each ministry, and 2.4 trillion won in contingency funds available. Of these, even the budget specifically designated for disaster use amounts to 1.6 trillion won, and the remaining budget can also be used for disaster purposes,” emphasizing, “Do they want to joke while lying in front of disaster victims who have lost their families and whose entire property has burned away? They must restore at least a minimum level of humanity.”
Lee also asked, “Are they lying to the public by saying there is no budget to prepare for firefighting while not spending even a single won?” He further stated, “Political strife is fine, and power is fine, but I hope the People Power Party gets a grip and stops lying to those who are suffering.”
As damages from recent wildfires in the Gyeongbuk area increase, a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is expected over the restoration of disaster contingency funds related to the supplementary budget proposal. In particular, criticism has emerged from the People Power Party that budget cuts to disaster contingency funds in this year's budget are causing disruptions in wildfire response.
Kim Sang-hoon, chairman of the policy committee of the People Power Party, stated at the emergency response committee meeting the previous day, “While the Democratic Party is fixated on giving out money through a 'consumer coupon for economic recovery' regardless of income level, they oppose the allocation of supplementary budget for disaster contingency funds proposed by the People Power Party, claiming that there is no lack of contingency funds.”