Parties must hammer out bipartisan deal to pass supplementary budget in April
South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties are wrangling over the details of a supplementary budget proposal, raising many eyebrows amid concerns that such arguments are only delaying the relief efforts needed to recover from the massive wildfires that ravaged the country’s southeastern region.
The South Korean government proposed a supplementary budget worth at least 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion) on Sunday. Previous discussions about an extra budget were largely about an economic stimulus, but the focus shifted to the need for relief efforts as the nation suffered its worst-ever wildfires that scorched about 48,000 hectares of land and left at least 30 people dead.
The Finance Ministry on Monday explained that the extra budget will be focused on the country’s most “pressing issues,” especially those linked to the aftermath of the wildfires. In addition, the additional budget will be used to beef up trade and artificial intelligence sectors and offer financial support to ease the burden on people’s livelihoods.
The most pressing issue is post-wildfire recovery efforts. The government said all 11 major wildfires had been contained as of Sunday afternoon, after wreaking havoc across a large area of the southeastern region for 10 days. But firefighter helicopters and government officials have been deployed to keep a watch on the affected areas to detect signs of reignition amid lingering worries about dry conditions and gusty winds.
The scale of destruction is so massive and far-reaching that it seems difficult for government officials to provide help to the victims and carry out recovery efforts in a timely manner. The wildfires destroyed over 6,300 structures, with much of the damage concentrated in the northeastern part of North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
The scale of displacement is equally worrisome. More than 5,500 people were reported to be staying at 115 evacuation centers. Among them, a large proportion are elderly. Relief workers on the ground report an urgent need for medical assistance, as many evacuees struggle with mobility issues or chronic illnesses.
Particularly critical is the lack of prescription drugs and specialized medicines. The shortage must be addressed to prevent further suffering among the most vulnerable, which is why the government needs extra funds as soon as possible.
The extra budget of 10 trillion won, if implemented, would mark a 1.49 percent increase from the country’s 2025 budget of 673.3 trillion won. The size of the supplementary budget could be raised as it is widely perceived to fall short of what the country needs to deal with a host of challenges. In addition, major parties have different pet projects that they believe require extra money.
On Monday, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said that the proposal for an extra budget of 10 trillion won was “too small” to revitalize the sluggish economy and claimed its details were inadequate. Lee called for the government to use contingency funds from the 2025 state budget if it needs money for disaster response right away.
The floor leaders of the rival parties held a meeting on Monday but clashed over the size of the extra budget, confirming a wide gap in their respective positions.
On Tuesday, the ruling People Power Party suggested that the extra budget should be allocated to disaster relief, trade and AI issues first before discussing other priority projects that each party wants to include in the supplementary budget. Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, called for the opposition parties to cooperate over the supplementary budget.
Despite the different political agendas, the rival parties must speed up discussions to offer bipartisan support for the extra budget. They should aim to pass the extra budget in the April parliament session, a tight schedule that should be met to tackle the country’s pressing issues in time.
