The Democratic Party criticized the government’s 2025 budget proposal under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration as “favoring the rich, neglecting the people, and sacrificing the future budget.” Party officials Jin Sung-joon, the head of the policy committee, and Heo Young, the head of the budget settlement and adjustment committee, stated in a joint statement on the 27th that the budget reflected “favoritism towards the wealthy and erosion of the tax base through tax reduction and exemption, while neglecting essential projects recognized by the public and either omitting or reducing investments in livelihood projects. They also noted that research and development (R&D) investments for the future barely exceeded the level of two years ago.
The Democratic Party pointed out the flaws in the tax reduction policy of the Yoon administration, stating that the proposed budget jeopardized tax revenues due to measures such as abolishing the financial investment income tax, reducing inheritance tax rates, and abolishing various levies. They emphasized the importance of a stable revenue source to support active fiscal roles, especially at such a critical juncture.
Furthermore, the party criticized the budget for being distant from livelihood and safety concerns. They highlighted the absence of budget allocations for initiatives like regional gift vouchers aimed at addressing high prices and stimulating domestic consumption, as well as the significant reduction in disaster management investments, such as support for installing sprinklers in response to incidents like the Bucheon hotel fire, where the disaster safety budget for next year decreased by 266.1 billion won compared to this year.
The party also criticized the lack of attention to future food industry and housing measures in the budget proposal, pointing out discrepancies such as the government’s emphasis on R&D budget reaching a record-high of 29.7 trillion won while only slightly surpassing last year’s R&D budget of 29.3 trillion won. They questioned whether there was a genuine commitment from the Yoon administration to proactively prepare for the future, especially as the public housing budget for next year was cut by over 3 trillion won compared to this year.
It is expected that the Democratic Party will engage in fierce debates in the National Assembly over the government’s budget proposal. They expressed their commitment to take responsibility for ensuring amendments are made during the parliamentary review process to transform the next year’s budget into a national finance that brings hope to the people.
On the same day, the government held a cabinet meeting in the morning and approved the budget proposal for next year. The total revenue was set at 651.8 trillion won, an increase of 6.5% from the previous year, while total expenditure reached 677.4 trillion won, rising by 3.2%. The budget proposal will be submitted to the National Assembly early next month, where it will undergo scrutiny by relevant committees and the budget settlement special committee before finalization in December.