South Korea's ruling and opposition parties are clashing over specific line items in the government's supplementary budget as the National Assembly reviews the spending plan ahead of a scheduled vote on June 10.
The People Power Party (PPP), the main opposition, has called for cuts to several programs including the expansion of the National Tax Service's (NTS) delinquent tax collection unit, arguing that the items are unrelated to the supplementary budget's original purpose of responding to the Middle East crisis. The PPP has vowed to subject non-oil-crisis-related spending to rigorous scrutiny. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the ruling party, meanwhile said it would push to increase funding for its key policy priorities while calling for swift passage of the budget.
The most prominent target for cuts cited by the PPP is the 213.4 billion won allocation to expand the NTS delinquent tax collection unit. The party argues the item has no connection to the "wartime supplementary budget" rationale and that even the government cannot clearly demonstrate the unit's effectiveness.
Rep. Park Soo-young, the PPP's ranking member on the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, said the NTS "is touting that it deployed 68 workers for a 10-day pilot program last September and collected an additional 300 million won." He added, "But the delinquent taxes collected in September were the lowest of any month, and the collection rate of 3.6% was also the year's lowest."
The PPP pointed out that even with an expanded unit, the government cannot guarantee an increase in collected amounts. According to Rep. Park, the NTS reportedly responded to a query about projected performance by saying it "cannot produce performance estimates because the unit does not directly engage in compulsory collection of delinquent taxes." The NTS recently told the National Assembly that it expects collection results worth three times the budget, however.
The PPP is also pushing to cut the 58.7 billion won farmland use management program. The party argues the program was introduced after President Lee Jae-myung flagged real estate speculation in rural areas and has no connection to public livelihood support. An increase of 224.5 billion won for unpaid medical aid obligations — which has been consistently cut during previous supplementary budget reviews — also faces a high likelihood of reduction. The National Assembly Budget Office and others have argued it is inappropriate to use supplementary budgets to cover shortfalls caused by the government's inaccurate medical aid cost projections.
Other items the PPP wants to cut include the "Startup for All" audition-style entrepreneurship program, residential mini solar panel subsidies (25 billion won) that were embroiled in a subsidy fraud controversy, and the K-Content Fund (50 billion won).
The DPK has drawn a firm line, arguing the supplementary budget contains measures essential for overcoming the current high oil price crisis. Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae said, "The Democratic Party will listen to legitimate concerns and seek alternatives during the National Assembly review." She added, "But we will firmly counter narrow-minded and irresponsible claims raised simply for political sparring amid an urgent crisis."
Going further, the DPK announced its review priorities for the supplementary budget on the same day, calling for increases to the very programs the PPP targeted for cuts — signaling a head-on standoff. The party said it would expand funding for residential solar panel programs as well as cultural programs including K-Content initiatives.
The two sides have agreed to process the supplementary budget at a plenary session on June 10, following comprehensive questioning at the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on June 7–8 and subcommittee review on June 8–9. However, negotiations over specific line items are expected to be contentious.