The Democratic Party of Korea signaled increases focused on five areas of support ahead of the government's supplementary budget review. The five areas include measures to respond to high oil prices, energy self-reliance projects, and support for public transportation use.
On Apr. 5, the Democratic Party said in a news release under the names of Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae and Budget and Accounts Policy Coordination Committee Chair Lee So-young that "during the National Assembly review of the supplementary budget, we plan to push for increases largely centered on five areas of support."
The five support areas the Democratic Party released are: ▲ support for industries heavily hit by high oil prices ▲ distribution of renewable energy and electric vehicles to reduce dependence on oil ▲ support to promote the use of public transportation ▲ support for small business owners ▲ support for vulnerable groups.
Projects to reduce dependence on oil mentioned included promoting the distribution of household solar, revitalizing "sunlight income villages," and replacing aging solar inverters. Among these, "sunlight income villages" refers to projects in which village residents take part in operating solar power plants on idle land and share the profits.
Regarding the promotion of public transportation use, the plan includes cutting in half the benchmark amount for the K-Pass flat-rate "Everyone's Card." The government's existing supplementary budget included increasing the reimbursement rate for the basic K-Pass. The K-Pass is divided into a basic type, which reimburses a portion of the amount, and a flat-rate type, which refunds public transportation costs that exceed the benchmark amount.
The party also decided to secure funding for the "Just Do It Center," released as the "Chak! But Pledge No. 1." The Just Do It Center is a facility that provides household services such as replacing fluorescent lights and bulbs and repairing screens for seniors 65 and older and others.
The Democratic Party said, "Claiming that this supplementary budget is an election ploy unrelated to the damage from high oil prices overlooks the complex effects high oil prices have on the entire national economy," adding, "In an urgent crisis, we will properly point out and correct narrow and irresponsible claims raised solely for political strife."