The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party agreed to process a supplementary budget proposal worth 13.8 trillion won. This amount is 1.6 trillion won higher than the supplementary budget proposal submitted by the government to the National Assembly. Budget allocations for local love gift certificates, disaster support, and social overhead capital (SOC) have been increased.
Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Park Chan-dae and People Power Party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong met at the National Assembly in the morning of the 1st and signed a memorandum of agreement on the supplementary budget. The Democratic Party and the People Power Party are expected to hold a plenary session around 8 a.m. that day to vote on the '2025 first supplementary budget proposal.'
The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party agreed on a supplementary budget proposal that increased by 1.6 trillion won compared to the 12.2 trillion won submitted by the government. Specifically, the increased amounts include ▲ 400 billion won for local love gift certificate issuance support ▲ 200 billion won for disaster areas and local agricultural products discount support ▲ 800 billion won for SOC projects such as roads and railways. Additionally, ▲ 50 billion won for specific operational expenses related to narcotics, deepfakes, and sexual crimes ▲ 30 billion won for summer flood preparation budget ▲ 4.5 billion won for Board of Audit special operation expenses have also been increased.
Floor leader Park noted, "This supplementary budget is an urgent measure to revive the disaster-stricken economy caused by wildfires amid much political turmoil after the martial law," adding, "While it may not be sufficient to revive the people's economy, I thank the People Power Party for agreeing to allocate 400 billion won for the local love gift certificates."
Floor leader Kweon said, "We worked hard to prepare a budget to provide new hope to wildfire victims. We significantly expanded support to help affected farmers and small business owners recover," and expressed gratitude to the respective advisors of both parties and Park Jeong, chairman of the Budget Committee, for leading a harmonious agreement on the supplementary budget proposal.
The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party continued discussions on the supplementary budget proposal until late the previous night. Given the domestic economic situation is not favorable, consensus was formed on the need for additional budget input. Initially, the government submitted a supplementary budget proposal totaling 32 trillion won for disaster response, 44 trillion won for trade and artificial intelligence support, and 43 trillion won for public welfare, considering it a less contentious issue for the two parties.
The budget for local love gift certificate support emphasized by the Democratic Party of Korea has been reduced from 1 trillion won to 400 billion won. Additionally, the special operational expenses for the prosecution, which were entirely cut during last year's budget review process, have been partially restored. The 'public recovery consumption coupons' proposed by the Democratic Party were replaced by the government using 20% of the existing allocated fund for consumer stimulation.
Representative Heo Young, the Democratic Party of Korea's advisor to the National Assembly Budget and Account Settlement Committee, met with reporters in the National Assembly and explained, "This year is already entering its fifth month, and a scale of 400 billion won for local love gift certificates can be considered relatively large," adding, "The budget for special operational expenses was prepared on the premise of establishing a systematic mechanism to ensure thorough documentation in the National Assembly."