Cheon Ha-ram, floor leader of the Reform Party (Gaehyuksindang), sharply criticized the 26 trillion won supplementary budget bill, saying "it is common sense that public funds cannot be spent freely."
At a supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Tuesday, Cheon said, "This is nothing more than a self-serving supplementary budget to resolve the Democratic Party's pet projects under this opportunity."
Cheon specifically pointed out supplementary budget items unrelated to the response to high oil prices caused by the Middle East war. "A budget of 30.6 billion won has been included for services such as 'luggage carry and hospitality services' for Chinese tourists," he said. "The expert advisor of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee noted in a review report that 'the project does not meet the supplementary budget requirements of unpredictability and urgency.'"
"Why on earth should we increase support budgets specifically for tourists from a particular country?" he added. "I cannot understand what this has to do with a wartime supplementary budget."
Cheon also said, "The National Tax Service's delinquent tax management unit plans to expand its staff from 500 to 10,000 based on a single remark by the president, increasing the budget by 213.3 billion won." He added, "The 38.5 billion won for film industry production support also has no discernible relevance, urgency, or unpredictability connected to a wartime supplementary budget."
"The Reform Party will do its utmost to cut all padded budget items unrelated to the wartime supplementary budget during the Budget and Accounts Special Committee review process," he said.
Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, told reporters immediately after the supreme council meeting, "The supplementary budget should pivot toward direct fuel price support." He stressed, "It is right to cut all constituency-service-type budget items entirely."