The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party engaged in an unyielding battle of nerves on Sunday (November 1), just ahead of the opening of the budget session, clashing over the government's record-high 820.9 trillion won budget proposal for next year and the Future Response Fund.

Park Sung-joon, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, criticized the ruling party that morning, saying, "[The People Power Party] incited claims that the government budget proposal was 'populism' and even issued threats," adding, "Does the People Power Party, which brought the nation's future to a halt by slashing R&D (research and development), have any right to speak of 'future generations'?"

The remark came in response to People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sig's criticism on October 30, where he described the Future Response Fund as a "200 trillion won free pass for populism."

Chief Spokesperson Park pointed out, "The Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the People Power Party condemned researchers as an 'R&D vested interest cartel' and slashed the R&D budget by 16.6%, a whopping 5.2 trillion won," adding, "A KAIST graduate who protested this was dragged away by his hands and feet with his mouth covered. The People Power Party is the very culprit that plundered the future of the Republic of Korea."

He continued, "It is contradictory for the People Power Party, which disrupted research environments and undermined South Korea's future growth engine, to now express concern for future generations," emphasizing, "If they truly care about the future, they should responsibly commit to investments for the nation's future rather than resorting to unconditional obstructionism and political agitation."

Jeon Eun-soo, floor spokesperson of the Democratic Party, also countered Floor Leader Jeong's remarks labeling the Future Response Fund a "200 trillion won free pass for populism," calling it a "typical political offensive that ignores the facts."

On the other hand, Choi Bo-yoon, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, sharpened her criticism in a commentary that morning, stating, "An 821 trillion won budget that incurred debt during a bumper year—the People Power Party will not sign a 'blank check' written to future generations."

Chief Spokesperson Choi said, "Next year's national tax revenue will reach 584 trillion won, an increase of 194 trillion won (49.8%) from this year's main budget," adding, "Yet, the national debt will balloon by more than 100 trillion won from this year to reach 1,520 trillion won.

In the meantime, 104 trillion won in surplus funds with no specific projects designated will pile up in the Future Response Fund."

She also pointed out, "According to the government's plan, the national debt will reach 1,734 trillion won in 2030, and interest on government bonds will exceed 53 trillion won in 2030, up from 42.8 trillion won next year," questioning, "While paying more than 110 billion won in interest each day, whose 'future' are they talking about?"

She continued, "A boom lasts only a season, but once cash spending begins, it is difficult to reverse," warning, "We will closely scrutinize and weed out unverified cash handouts and populist projects one by one."