Park Hong-geun, the Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, addressed concerns regarding the shortened legislative notice period for the establishment of the Future Response Fund, stating it was an unavoidable measure due to the budget submission schedule. He also indicated that additional consultations would take place during the National Assembly review process regarding the Ministry of Economy and Finance's requests for amendments that were not incorporated into the government proposal.
During a comprehensive audit session of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee on October 23, Minister Park responded to questions from Representative Park Soo-young of the People Power Party, who pointed out procedural issues in the advancement of the Future Response Fund Act. Park acknowledged that the legislative notice period was indeed short, but noted that exceptions are allowed under the law for necessary cases.
He explained that the shortened notice period was due to the need to align the Future Response Fund Act with the budget submission timeline, which necessitated concentrated procedures at the end of August.
Representative Park criticized the legislative notice for the Future Response Fund Act, which lasted only five days, significantly shorter than the usual 40 days. He also claimed that the Ministry of Economy and Finance had requested deletions or amendments to ten provisions related to the National Finance Act and the Future Response Fund Act, but these were not reflected in the proposal, suggesting inadequate inter-departmental consultations.
In response, Minister Park stated that there was a five-day consultation period with relevant ministries, during which the Ministry of Economy and Finance provided its feedback on the last day. He added that a Cabinet meeting was scheduled for September 1, following the weekend. He emphasized that practical consultations had taken place and that both ministries agreed to further discussions during the National Assembly stage before submitting the government proposal.
However, when asked whether the two ministers had agreed to incorporate the Ministry of Economy and Finance's opinions during the National Assembly review process, Minister Park clarified that it was more about practical consultations rather than a formal agreement between the two ministers. He reiterated that they had agreed to further discussions on both ministries' opinions during the National Assembly stage before submission.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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