President Lee Jae-myung on the 31st expressed a negative view of the Busan Global Hub City Special Act (Busan Global Act), saying, "If you make a special act only for Busan, what will you do about other regions like Daejeon and Gwangju?"
Lee made the remarks during a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House in the afternoon while discussing the legislative process for lawmakers' bills.
Lee told the Ministers, "Because lawmakers' bills sometimes become populist in fact, each ministry needs to think hard not only about its own jurisdiction but also about fiscal issues and consistency with other legal systems."
He went on, "For example, this time they were rushing to make the Busan Special Act, so I said a few things—whether it will become a fiscal burden, or whether it is indeed consistent with the government's state affairs," and asked rhetorically, "If you make a special act only for Busan, what will you do with Daejeon, and what on earth will you do with Gwangju and other places?"
He added, "If you say it is necessary without such a review, it will in reality burden the government and later may be very difficult to implement," and emphasized, "It is important to actively offer opinions in the early stages so that unnecessary clashes or burdens do not arise."
The remarks came immediately after Minister Park Hong-geun of the Ministry of Planning and Budget noted, "When lawmakers introduce bills, they often do not make budget estimates carefully and responsibly."
There is speculation within the ruling bloc that the halt in the process of handling the Busan Global Hub City Special Act is not unrelated to Lee's instructions.
Regarding this, Blue House Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said at a briefing that day, "What matters is not which party's legislation it is, but that if there is no special basis or a big direction that improves the lives of a majority of the people, it is not appropriate to put a city name in and make a special act," explaining the meaning.