"Government's Slush Fund" vs. "Growth Engine": Clash Over Future Response Fund

[Anchor]

During the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the ruling and opposition parties sharply clashed once again over the Future Response Fund. When the People Power Party demanded the withdrawal of the fund, calling it nothing more than the Lee Jae-myung administration's slush fund that bypasses National Assembly oversight, the government and the Democratic Party countered that the opposition is launching a political offensive against a fund designed for growth engines.

Reporter Kim Jin-woo reports.

[Reporter]

This morning (October 8) at the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Planning and Budget.

When People Power Party lawmakers put up picket signs demanding the withdrawal of the 162 trillion won Future Response Fund allocation, Cho Seung-rae, chairman of the National Assembly's Finance, Economy, and Planning Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, stepped in to stop them,

[Cho Seung-rae / Chairman of the National Assembly Finance, Economy, and Planning Committee: "How can displaying these panels be permissible without understanding or agreement? Please take them down, that is."]

leading to a disruption in the proceedings where lawmakers from both parties walked out before returning.

People Power Party lawmakers sharpened their criticism over how the fund would be operated, arguing that government spending discretion would be drastically expanded, making it no different from a slush fund spent at will.

[Lim I-ja / People Power Party Lawmaker: "It is an expedient transfer account that bypasses the National Assembly's oversight. Furthermore, it is an overdraft account that steals the identity of future generations."]

[Park Hong-keun / Minister of Planning and Budget: "Launching such a political offensive does not change the facts."]

[Lim I-ja / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Isn't it a slush fund handed out by the government at will! (It is by no means the case.)"]

The ruling party defended the fund, saying it is meant to address future tax revenue shortfalls and secure future growth engines.

[Moon Jin-seog / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Simply put, it is a single fund to secure future growth engines, that's what it is."]

At the parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission, regarding the opposition's questioning over whether Cheong Wa Dae had ordered the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon responded that it was a decision made by the Financial Services Commission considering foreign currency outflows and other factors.

[Park Jun-tae / People Power Party Lawmaker: "This 'single-stock leverage ETF,' was this by order of Cheong Wa Dae?"]

[Lee Eog-weon / Chairman of the Financial Services Commission: "That is not true. As we have repeatedly said, we listened to various opinions and..."]

Ruling party lawmakers pushed back, calling allegations of Cheong Wa Dae's involvement a "conspiracy theory" and nothing more than political strife, while the opposition criticized the audit as having ended up toothless after the adoption of key witnesses, including former Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom, fell through.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan, and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Lee Seung-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.