Cheer up, all the Smiths in Korea

The rivaling parties must fight over how wisely the money can be spent, not how much.

Suh Kyoung-hoThe author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” is a 1939 black-and-white American political comedy-drama film which featured how a filibuster is staged and how far it can go. Jefferson Smith, an idealistic Boy Ranger leader, is handpicked as a stooge to fill a vacancy in the Senate. When the naïve political rookie falls into a political corruption scheme and is poised to be kicked out of the Senate, Smith resorts to “talking” a filibuster to postpone the passage of a corrupt appropriation bill and prove his innocence. He talks nonstop for 24 hours reading the constitutional amendments, the Bible and letters from average people in his home state until he falls from exhaustion. The corrupt Senator who exploited Smith finally confesses to his wrongdoing and affirms Smith’s innocence to close the movie with a happy ending.

After the majority Democratic Party (DP) railroaded six controversial bills, including one aimed at providing a 250,000-won ($183) cash handout to every citizen. The governing People Power Party (PPP) has been trying to block each of them in vain through filibusters. Rep. Park Soo-min, a PPP lawmaker, had the longest record by taking the podium for 15 hours and 50 minutes. Park accused the 250,000-won relief bill to be a vote-buying scheme. Park, a father of five, claimed he opposed the voucher program because he wanted to be “responsible for his children’s future in a proud way.”

The bill mandates the government dole out a community gift voucher of 250,000 won to 350,000 won to each citizen depending on their income level. But the legislative branch is certainly infringing on the executive branch’s budgetary authority by authorizing the use of fiscal spending. The National Assembly Budget Office estimates the relief program would require a maximum of 17.95 trillion won for a supplementary budget — and up to 20 trillion won when counting the 10 percent extra cost for issuing those vouchers. The DP doesn’t care about the massive cost needed for the voucher program. The opposition has violated the Constitution which disallows any budgetary increase without the government’s consent.

The voucher scheme is being contested for several reasons. First, it has little economic bang for the buck. Of the pandemic period cash handouts in 2020, only 22 percent to 42 percent of the money were spent on consumption. Second, the benefit is limited as the voucher can be used mostly in certain businesses — such as clinics, grocery shops and gas stations — as well as large vendors. Third, it fuels inflation. Fourth, the government coffers can’t afford such extravagant spending. The opposition challenges the government to present a better idea to relieve the hardship of the common people and stimulate domestic demand rather than resorting to its knee-jerk opposition. If the government lowers the interest rate, it can ease the pain for debtors, but policymakers of the Bank of Korea fear the move can further excite the heat in the housing market and worsen the household debt.

Such constraints call for a fiscal action. But the money must go to the needy, not everyone. There are many ways to do so. The government plans to hoist up the threshold for the medium income for a family of four by a record 6.42 percent next year after the raising it by 6.09 percent this year and 5.47 percent last year. The medium income threshold is used as the guideline for the implementation of 74 social welfare programs. Such narrow-focused assistance is certainly more effective than the populist cash handout.

Unpaid workers also can be helped. The total amount of deferred wages exceeded 1 trillion won in the first half of the year, up 27 percent from the last historic high in 2023. As many as 150,000 workers are yet to be fully paid. The government can pay the dues on behalf of the employers to relieve the workers. Kim Moon-soo, the nominee for new labor minister, rightly said that the public money would be better spent to help unpaid workers instead of handing out 250,000 won to every citizen.

The rivaling parties must fight over how wisely the money can be spent, not how much. Some question the use of filibusters, but I don’t agree. It’s the only tool for a minority party to raise its voice to persuade the legislature and the public. Along with the filibuster length record he set on the podium, the repercussions of the remarks by Rep. Park still reverberate. “I want to be an honest politician instead of a famous one,” he said. If Mr. Smith had started a filibuster in the National Assembly, he would have had to return to his seat even before finishing the filibuster after a vote by the DP to stop it. Still, fight on, all the Smiths in Korea, as people are watching.