On the 14th, Acting President Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, exercised his right to reconsider (veto) the amendment to the Local Education Financial Grants Act, which extends the deadline for government support for free high school education by three years. This is because sufficient consultation was not carried out during the legislative process, and the cost of free high school education can be covered only through local education finances. In response, the opposition party, including the Democratic Party of Korea, protested, saying, “This is Acting President Choi’s brutality, which is pushing education, which is the national plan for 100 years, and the livelihood of people in despair.”
At a cabinet meeting presided over at the Seoul Government Complex this morning, Acting President Choi said, “Although an alternative was presented to extend national cost sharing for three years and sequentially reduce the sharing ratio, the amendment was passed without sufficient discussion,” adding, “Support for free education is necessary.” “We are not rejecting it, but we are asking for a reconsideration with the intention of discussing it again in the National Assembly to come up with better policy alternatives,” he said. He continued, “For policies that require such large amounts of finance, it would be more desirable to come up with an alternative with high social acceptability through a sufficient political and policy consultation process in the National Assembly rather than legislatively mandating national treasury support.” He also emphasized, “If it is used appropriately, local governments can afford to cover the cost of free high school education.”
The Democratic Party protested against Acting President Choi, saying, “If you lower the quality of public education by pushing ahead with a policy that is sure to fail, you will be held accountable for it.” Policy Committee Chairman Jin Seong-jun expressed concern at the in-house countermeasures meeting that day, saying, “We are in a position where the free education that applies to all students, including high school admission fees, tuition fees, textbook fees, and school operation support fees, may be discontinued.” Kang Yoo-jeong, floor spokesperson, said, “This is no different from a declaration of war that the state has no will to help the people’s already dire hardships.”
As Acting President Choi continued to exercise his veto, the Democratic Party also took a negative stance on the National Government Council held by the ruling and opposition parties. Chairman Jin warned, “A government council can only be successful if mutual respect and understanding are prerequisites,” and added, “How can we cooperate with an executive branch that does not respect the legislature?” Floor spokesperson Noh Jong-myeon also added, “Our position is that consultation on national affairs is possible only when the administration’s attitude of respecting the legislature is restored.” This is interpreted as indicating the possibility of rejection of the National Government Council.
Even in the first working-level consultation held on the 9th, the government and the ruling party showed differences in their positions, with the government and the ruling party each prioritizing the handling of the so-called ‘Four Future Food Act’, including the Special Act on the Semiconductor Industry, while the opposition party prioritized the preparation of an early supplementary budget (supplementary budget).
People Power Party Policy Committee Chairman Kim Sang-hoon said regarding the National Affairs Council, “There are some agenda items that make it difficult to narrow the gap,” but added, “We will try to reach a conclusion in the working-level consultative body with the Democratic Party again this week.”
Reporter Kwon Oh-hyuk [email protected]
Sejong = Reporter Soon-gu Jeong [email protected]
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