Relations between President Park Geun-hye and her ruling Saenuri Party are showing signs of being strained as party members complain about her plan to sharply cut infrastructure spending to raise money for other projects promised during her campaign.

The party fears such cuts would affect its chances in next year’s local elections.

The government is expected to unveil later this week what officials dub the “household ledger” for Park’s campaign projects, which will lay out how it will raise about 135 trillion won ($120 billion) necessary to fund some 140 “national tasks.”

The tasks are aimed at carrying out the four overarching goals and slogans of the Park administration that call for reviving the economy, promoting happiness of the people, causing the culture to flourish and laying the groundwork for peaceful unification.

The fundraising plan, set to be announced on Friday, reportedly breaks down largely into two parts: raising some 50.7 trillion won from scaling back tax breaks and benefits and some 84.4 trillion won from restructuring expenditures.

What the ruling party takes issue with is that infrastructure spending cuts take up the biggest part of expenditure restructuring at 12 trillion won. Such big cuts mean that existing projects will continue, but no money will be set aside for new ones.

Party members were highly critical of the money plan when Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok briefed them on it on Monday, with some claiming that the plan means the government won’t spend any money on new infrastructure projects in provincial regions, sources said.

“Who would pay attention if the budget for only national projects is announced while all key regional projects are left out?

The household ledger should be thoroughly revised,” a member of the party’s Supreme Council said on condition of anonymity.

Party officials are concerned that they are bound for defeat in next year’s local elections unless infrastructure projects are pushed for as planned as most of Park’s campaign promises for provincial regions are completing such projects.

On Tuesday, Park renewed her commitment to the campaign projects.

“The national tasks are the new government’s goals and promises to the people. Each ministry should try to draw up specific implementation plans so that we can achieve intended results,” she said during a Cabinet meeting.

Park also told the Cabinet to break away from existing practices and frameworks, and think up new ideas when drawing up implementation plans so that policies can be more practical and helpful to the people.

She also asked ministers to make on-site visits frequently to check how policies are working, and try to persuade the ruling and opposition parties to make related legislation as early as possible. (Yonhap News)