Rival parties clash over Lee’s early moves, from PM nominee to budget

Rep. Kim Yong-tae, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party, protests Kim Min-seok's prime minister nomination alongside People Power Party lawmakers at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. (Yonhap)

Clashes between rival parties are intensifying over key issues confronting the Lee Jae-myung administration in its early days — including the confirmation of Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok, a proposed supplementary budget, and the authority of the State Affairs Planning Committee.

President Lee Jae Myung hosted a luncheon with the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the opposition People Power Party at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on Sunday, as the two parties clashed over key agenda items pushed by the Lee administration.

At the center of the dispute is Kim’s nomination. The National Assembly is set to hold a two-day confirmation hearing starting Tuesday, but the People Power Party has called for it to be extended to three days, citing the need for more rigorous vetting.

People Power Party floor spokesperson Choi Soo-jin said during a press briefing at the National Assembly on Sunday that "a two-day hearing is insufficient."

Choi cited the scale and seriousness of the allegations against Kim, including false address registration, unreported assets and suspicious academic credentials — particularly his master’s degree from Tsinghua University in China.

Choi also criticized the ruling Democratic Party for rejecting witness requests and failing to submit necessary documents, saying it was “trying to hand out a free pass to someone who should be investigated, not confirmed.”

The Democratic Party has accused the People Power Party of obstructing the new Lee administration for political gain. It has urged the opposition to support Kim's confirmation.

The two parties are also at odds over the government’s proposed 30 trillion won ($21.8 billion) supplementary budget, which includes national spending vouchers and regional gift certificates — key Lee campaign pledges to boost domestic consumption.

The Democratic Party aims to pass the bill by July 4, when the current provisional parliamentary session ends. It also plans to appoint a new chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts this week to begin deliberations promptly before the peak summer holiday season.

“Passing the extra budget is urgent for people’s livelihoods, and it must be approved before the current parliamentary session ends on July 4,” Rep. Kim Hyun-jung, floor spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a press briefing at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Sunday. “To do so, electing the chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts is essential,” she added, pointing to the current vacant position.

Controversy is also growing around the State Affairs Planning Committee, a presidential body tasked with preparing national policy directions for the new administration.

The committee recently suspended policy briefings from several agencies — including the Korea Communications Commission and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office — citing insufficient preparation. The move has drawn criticism from the opposition, which claims the suspensions are politically motivated to pressure institutions seen as unfavorable to the administration.

State Affairs Planning Committee Chair Lee Han-joon said Sunday afternoon that the committee suspended the briefings because they were “disappointing results relative to the effort put in,” citing a lack of understanding of the president’s campaign pledges in policy planning, and a lack of initiative in addressing quality-of-life issues for citizens.

Lee added that the shortcomings reflect the lax governance of the previous administration, not the fault of any single agency, and that the committee plans to schedule new briefings.

The People Power Party denounced the suspensions.

“A government that should be accountable to the people is instead dividing agencies based on political interests and labeling those it disagrees with as corrupt legacies of the past," said Choi Soo-jin.