Parliament's review of next year's record 728 trillion won ($498.6 billion) government budget has been marred by repeated attempts by the Democratic Party (DP) to push through partisan items. At the National Assembly's House Steering Committee on Monday, lawmakers clashed over the presidential office's 8.25 billion won allocation for special activity funds.

People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog argued that the DP cannot restore what it once eliminated, saying the party "insisted last year that government operations would not collapse without special activity funds, so the Lee Jae Myung administration should not need them either." It may sound like obstinacy from the opposition, but the DP's actions during the previous budget review invite such criticism.

Last year, the party cut the presidential office's special activity funds to zero. After returning to power, it restored the amount to its original level - 4.12 billion won for six months - in July's supplementary budget.

Presidential Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Woo Sang-ho apologized at the time, though he offered no convincing explanation for the earlier elimination. Yet the party has now revived next year's allocation to the level set under the previous administration, drawing renewed accusations of double standards.

Woo also pledged that "there will be no reversals going forward" and vowed strict oversight of the funds. But the DP last week cut 2 billion won from the prosecution's special activity budget and added a clause barring any senior prosecutor who joined collective action from using it. The move is widely viewed as retaliation for protests over the Daejang-dong appeal withdrawal. Publicly, the party emphasizes transparency, but its actions suggest it views special activity funds as political resources.

Additional partisan items have raised further concerns. The Climate, Energy and Environment and Labor Committee pushed through 5.5 billion won for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' office lease deposit and another 5.5 billion won for repairs to facilities used by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. These items were not in the government proposal and appeared suddenly as memo-budget additions. Since support for such expenses has not been provided since 2005 and 2019 respectively, critics argue the allocations amount to political rewards. Many unaffiliated unions face far greater financial strain, raising questions about funneling extra aid to the country's two largest and most affluent labor groups.

The Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee also approved 7.48 billion won in new funding for TBS. The broadcaster lost city-funded support after controversies over political bias, particularly during elections. Yet no safeguards have been proposed to prevent such issues from recurring.

With the Lee administration's expansionary fiscal policy, next year's government bond issuance is expected to hit a record 110 trillion won. Even as households tighten their belts, partisan budget items worth tens of billions of won continue to be slipped into the plan. It is difficult to believe the government and ruling party are focused on serving the public interest.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.