Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 28th, "If the People Power Party drags its feet and stalls for time, that is a loss," adding, "We will handle the supplementary budget as fast as possible."
Meeting reporters at Ganggu Port in Yeongdeok County, North Gyeongsang Province, that morning, Jung said, "We are doing a supplementary budget because it is urgent, and we must not miss the golden time."
The government plans to submit a 25 trillion won supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly on the 31st. The Democratic Party of Korea intends to vote on it on the 9th of next month, but the People Power Party suggested around the 16th of the same month, after the National Assembly's interpellation of the administration. The supplementary budget is expected to include livelihood support funds in the form of regional gift certificates (local currency) for residents outside the greater Seoul area and for vulnerable groups.
Around 1 a.m. that morning, Jung went out to the East Sea to experience fishing operations. For about two hours, he hauled up nets and sorted fish, then held a roundtable with fishermen at the Ganggu branch of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.
Regarding the supplementary budget bill, Jung said, "The (fishing boat) fuel price is 174,000 won per drum, and I heard fishermen would like the government to cover 70% of any additional increase if the price rises above 204,000 won," adding, "I will relay this to the responsible lawmakers so it can be reflected as much as possible in the supplementary budget review."
Fishermen requested, among other things, an expansion in the number of foreign crew members. Jung said, "If there are 10 crew members on a boat, six have to be foreign crew, and I heard they would like that number increased by about one."
Regarding his visit to North Gyeongsang, considered a stronghold of the People Power Party, Jung said, "The Democratic Party of Korea should come more often to difficult regions," adding, "From the perspective that all people across the country should prosper evenly and the entire nation should develop in a balanced way, if there have been areas we have neglected until now, we will pay more attention and work harder."