Jang Dong-hyeok challenges President Lee to a full-scale debate over 162 trillion won 'Future Fund' ... calls it 'a ploy to create another Daejang-dong reservoir'

[Financial News] People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok has described the 162 trillion won 'Future Fund' included in next year's budget proposal as the government's 'petty cash' and formally challenged President Lee Jae Myung to an exhaustive debate.
Jang appeared on the morning of the 6th on Maeil Shinmun's YouTube channel 'Lee Dong-jae's News Cabinet' and said, "They're turning the temporary increase in tax revenue from the semiconductor boom into petty cash to dip into until the administration's term ends." He urged, "If this fund is truly necessary spending for the people, let's hold an exhaustive debate anywhere, including 'The President's Y,' a communication program featuring President Lee in person."
The Future Fund is a large-scale fiscal fund the government plans to establish using additional tax revenue from the semiconductor super-boom and other sources. Jang said, "The filibuster related to the special counsel on canceling indictments ends today, but review of the Future Fund budget is only beginning," signaling an all-out effort to block it during the budget session. Floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig also weighed in, saying, "We will make sure to block, during the National Assembly's review, the tricks behind the fund and the expansionary fiscal policy driven by handouts and showmanship."
Sharp criticism also continued of the Lee Jae-myung administration's 'public-sector-led' real estate policy. Jang said, "The private sector is responsible for 80% or more of housing supply, yet instead of improving project feasibility or easing regulations, the government is focusing solely on public rental housing and publicly led redevelopment, running counter to market principles."
He continued, "They pursued the Daejang-dong project under public-sector leadership and claimed it was their 'greatest achievement,' but it ultimately became a reservoir for slush funds, and those involved ended up on trial." He bluntly charged, "The Future Fund is also suspected of being an attempt to create a second Daejang-dong reservoir."
Meanwhile, public concerns about the Future Fund have also been voiced one after another within the ruling Democratic Party. The government says it needs to eliminate barriers between ministries and allow flexible spending, but ruling party lawmakers have raised concerns about 'weakened National Assembly oversight' and 'deteriorating local finances.'
At a meeting of the Budget, Accounts and Fund Review Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee held that day, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Seong-ho said, "If volatile funds are used for ongoing projects that require annual budget appropriations, such as statutory mandatory spending, projects could be suspended if funding runs short." He called for criteria to ensure that the aggregate cost of all projects does not exceed the fund's total revenue. Lawmaker Kwon Hyang-yeop criticized the transfer of 26.5 trillion won (58.4%) in existing ministry projects to the fund, saying it had "effectively neutralized the oversight authority of standing committees." Lawmaker Jeon Jin-suk pointed out that the fund's creation had cut local allocation tax revenue by around 30 trillion won, sharply shrinking local governments' discretionary resources.
Democratic Party senior lawmakers have also called for the provision allowing the government to increase project costs by up to 30% without the National Assembly's prior consent to be revised, saying the limit should be set at around 20%, as with ordinary funds. As a result, contentious debate across party lines is expected during the upcoming National Assembly budget review.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter