Fire safety budget cut in supplementary budget; national funding needed

Impeachment push against Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae called 'political'

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said Monday that Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae owes the public a sincere apology over her controversial "fire budget straw" remarks.

Speaking on CBS Radio, Yoon said the Democratic Party had called for disciplinary action against Choo and described her words as "a mouth that invites anger" and "a mouth that invites disaster." "Ultimately, it comes down to Governor Choo's own attitude," he said.

He added that the time had come to enact a special law on fire safety. "The political world must respond genuinely and thoroughly on the issue of safety," he said. "National government funding must be provided."

Yoon said the supplementary budget had cut 3.45 billion won ($2.56 million) from fire safety spending. "We need to put improving the treatment of firefighters first," he said. "The problem is that nearly 90 percent of funding comes from local government budgets, so local government heads end up cutting fire safety in favor of other showy administrative projects."

On the Democratic Party's consideration of impeaching Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae, Yoon said impeachment should be reserved for serious violations of the Constitution or law. "There is already a confrontational relationship between the chief justice and the president over the recommendation of Supreme Court justices," he said. "It is in that context that the impeachment card has been played."

"Once impeachment proceeds, it becomes a political impeachment by the National Assembly," he said. "If impeached, the chief justice's duties are suspended — and suspending those duties is exactly what lawmakers in the Democratic Party are now calling for."


mp1256@heraldcorp.com