Record-breaking budget topping 800 trillion won set to dominate session
Ruling party calls it 'golden time' for Lee government; opposition vows sharp scrutiny
Tax, real estate, capital markets and mega-projects fuel legislative battles
The National Assembly opened its 100-day regular session Tuesday, with the ruling and opposition parties agreeing to prioritize livelihood legislation but bracing for clashes over next year's budget — expected to exceed 800 trillion won ($582 billion), a record high — as well as confirmation hearings and tax reform. Opposition pressure on the government is also expected to intensify as the session runs through the October national audit.
The Assembly will hold a plenary session Thursday to process pending bills. Floor speeches by the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party are scheduled for Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, respectively. Interpellation sessions covering politics, diplomacy, unification, security, society, education and the economy are set for Sept. 9 through 11 and Sept. 14. Additional plenary sessions are scheduled for Sept. 17 and Oct. 1, and the national audit will run for three weeks beginning Oct. 6.
Democratic Party Floor Leader Han Byung-do said at a floor strategy meeting Tuesday that the regular session represents "the golden time for the success of the Lee Jae Myung government and South Korea's great leap forward," adding that legislation, budget review and confirmation hearings are all too urgent to delay.
The two parties moved toward cooperation on livelihood legislation on the opening day. Policy committee chairs from the Democratic Party and the People Power Party met in the morning to discuss fast-tracking bills that both sides could support, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 430th regular session held in the main chamber that afternoon.
The Democratic Party was represented by Policy Committee Chair Kwon Chil-seung, Senior Vice Chair Heo Yeong and Standing Vice Chair Min Byeong-deok. The People Power Party sent Policy Committee Chair Im I-ja and Vice Chairs Kim Mi-ae, Kim Eun-hye and Park Soo-young.
The budget bill for next year stands out as the most contentious issue. The government reviewed the draft budget at a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday. The total is expected to exceed 800 trillion won, reaching a record level.
The Democratic Party has championed expansionary fiscal policy to support economic recovery and household welfare. The People Power Party, by contrast, has condemned the government's proposal as a "populist budget" and is demanding sweeping revisions.
PPP Policy Committee Chair Im said at a floor strategy meeting that the government should "put forward medium- and long-term economic measures that fundamentally curb high inflation and revive the sluggish domestic economy," warning that experts have cautioned that prolonged high inflation amid an economic downturn could lead to stagflation.
Confirmation hearings for six Cabinet nominees are another flashpoint. President Lee had previously named new nominees for the ministries of Justice, SMEs and Startups, Economy and Finance, Land, Infrastructure and Transport, National Defense, and Gender Equality and Family, filling posts that had been vacant.
The opposition has trained its sights particularly on Justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Gender Equality and Family minister nominee Yong Hye-in. Kim's past role leading a group of Democratic Party lawmakers who called for dropping criminal charges against President Lee has become a prime target of attack. For Yong, a proportional-representation lawmaker from the Basic Income Party, the question of whether she will resign her Assembly seat has sparked controversy.
The People Power Party said all six nominees "fall short of the public's expectations" and vowed rigorous vetting. PPP Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik called for Kim's nomination to be withdrawn, saying Kim "was one of the seven who laughed during the flood disaster."
The Democratic Party plans to complete the confirmation process before the Chuseok holiday to minimize any governance vacuum. Floor Leader Han said he would ensure that "livelihood legislation does not stall because of confirmation hearings, and that budget review is not delayed by political squabbling."
A legislative battle over real estate policy is also expected. The Democratic Party faces pressure to calm housing market instability, which has been cited as a key factor behind a recent drop in the government's approval ratings. Related debates are expected to continue during the review of next year's tax revision bill, due to be submitted to the Assembly on Thursday.
The potential use of the Yongsan Park site — which has emerged as a major candidate for housing supply in central Seoul — is also drawing attention. A bill to amend the Yongsan Park Special Act, which would ease green-space requirements for the Camp Kim site near Yongsan Park, is currently before the full Assembly.
The People Power Party has argued that tax-centered real estate policies risk distorting the market and has pushed instead for expanding supply. PPP Policy Committee Chair Im said the party would submit amendments to the Urban Improvement Act and the Urban Redevelopment Act that would allow floor-area ratios for private redevelopment and reconstruction projects to be raised to up to 1.3 times the legal ceiling. "The most realistic and immediate way to build more homes in central Seoul is to improve the viability of private redevelopment and reconstruction and unblock the supply pipeline," Im said.
The ruling party also plans to move quickly on capital market legislation and bills supporting three major mega-projects. The Democratic Party had earlier adopted the slogan "Great reform for livelihoods, great transformation for growth, great investment for the future" at a pre-session lawmakers' workshop last month.
The People Power Party has labeled the Democratic Party's legislative push as "legislative steamrolling" and vowed to keep it in check, while simultaneously advancing 133 priority legislative tasks across seven areas under the banner of "reviving the livelihood economy." Key items include abolishing the reconstruction windfall profit recovery system and reforming the police.
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