Yoon to give budget speech amid threat of opposition boycott
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) — President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to give his second budget speech to the National Assembly on Tuesday amid the opposition party’s threat to boycott the session over what it calls suppression of the opposition.
The president will arrive at the National Assembly shortly before the 10 a.m. speech to meet with the leaders of the three branches of government and party leaders, though it is almost certain the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) will not attend.
The DP has demanded Yoon agree to an independent counsel probe into a corruption scandal that prosecutors have been investigating and that led to the arrest of a key confidant of DP leader Lee Jae-myung over the weekend, before Yoon delivers the budget speech.
The party has also said Yoon should apologize for suppressing the opposition through the prosecution’s investigation, which it fears is zeroing in on Lee.
When reporters asked him about the opposition’s demands Monday, Yoon said there should be no conditions attached to his budget speech because it is a duty under the Constitution and the law.
Still, it was unclear until Monday evening whether he would proceed with the speech or have it read by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as the DP intensified its protests, including through a general meeting of party lawmakers that resolved not to “accept” the speech.
The details of how the party will refuse it are expected to be decided at another meeting immediately before the start of the address. Speculation is that DP lawmakers will refuse to enter the hall where Yoon will deliver the speech and stand outside chanting slogans or holding up signs of protest.
Yoon used his first budget speech in May to offer COVID-19 assistance to North Korea following its first admission of a massive outbreak since the pandemic began.
His second speech, which will explain his administration’s first budget proposal of 639 trillion won (US$443 billion) for next year, is expected to focus on ways his administration will help restore people’s livelihoods while implementing belt-tightening measures.
