ChosunBiz exclusively obtained on the 26th a statement submitted by the government to the National Assembly that details, by ministry, which projects and how much of the 95.8 billion won set aside as "contingency funds" in this year's budget will be used in the first quarter. This is the first time a "quarterly contingency fund usage plan statement" has been disclosed.
A contingency fund is emergency money set aside to prepare for urgent expenditure that was impossible to predict when the budget was arranged. Because it is arranged as aggregates for the year and approved by the National Assembly the following year, it has drawn criticism as a "black box budget" and "pocket money for the administration."
◇ First submission to the National Assembly of the "quarterly contingency fund usage plan" under the amended National Finance Act
According to the "contingency fund usage plan statement" submitted by the government to the office of Cheon Ha-ram, a Commissioner on the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts from the Reform Party, on the 26th, a plan to use roughly 95,802,500,000 won in contingency funds in the first quarter was approved. A clause requiring central government Ministers to submit a quarterly contingency fund usage plan statement to the National Assembly after obtaining presidential approval was newly established in the National Finance Act in Feb. this year.
Among the first-quarter contingency fund usage plans, amounts related to the establishment and operation of various committees newly launched under the current administration total 23.0 billion won. ▲ 16.868 billion won for the establishment and operation expenses of the Basic Society Committee and the Truth and Reconciliation Committee ▲ 4.851 billion won for the establishment and operation expenses of the Committee of Light ▲ 368 million won to improve the certificate application system for Light ▲ 991 million won for the operation expenses of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, among others.
Expenses to return the presidential office to Cheong Wa Dae were also executed from first-quarter contingency funds. A total of 3.331 billion won was arranged for environmental maintenance of aging ancillary facilities at Cheong Wa Dae. In addition, 25.848 billion won was arranged for operating various special prosecutor teams, and 4.755 billion won in contingency funds was arranged for the newly established National Assembly Archives this year. Contingency funds were also injected into the operating costs of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' "Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Temporary Task Framework," launched to support investment in the United States.
◇ Off by 40 million won, and hard to verify the need for expenditure
Under the Constitution, contingency funds are approved by the National Assembly as aggregates, and actual expenditure is approved by the next National Assembly. While this is a device to guarantee the government's urgent expenditure, it has drawn criticism for failing to provide timely control over detailed items. In response, the National Finance Act newly added an obligation to submit a "quarterly contingency fund usage plan statement."
Although the "contingency fund usage plan statement" was submitted to the National Assembly for the first time, it is being evaluated as still falling short of ensuring fiscal transparency. First, there was a mismatch in amounts. The total contingency funds for managing fraudulent receipt of national subsidies appear twice in the statement, with one entry listed as 8.5991 billion won and the other as 8.5591 billion won. Although the difference is 40 million won, it is inappropriate for such numerical errors to occur in fiscal documents submitted to the National Assembly.
There are also noticeable cases that raise questions about whether the targets of contingency fund use are appropriate. Contingency funds can be used only for projects that were impossible to predict during budget arrangement, for which the need for expenditure is urgent, that are difficult to cover with existing budgets, and that can be executed within the fiscal year. The reason these rules are set in the National Finance Act is to strictly enforce budget execution.
The statement includes mostly project names, amounts by item, and a one-line description. For example, within the Committee of Light contingency funds, 4.4 billion won was allocated in a bundle for certificate issuance, prize-giving, and event and publicity expenses, but based on this alone it is difficult to verify whether the unpredictability or need-for-expenditure requirements are met.