Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and floor leader Park Chan-dae walk to a closed-door parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 8. /News1

The Democratic Party of South Korea announced on Dec. 8 its intention to further cut the 2025 budget by approximately $487 million, citing the recent ‘insurrection situation,’ referring to the ongoing investigation into allegations of a coup attempt involving President Yoon Suk-yeol.

This move follows the party’s earlier action in the National Assembly’s Special Budget Settlement Committee, where it enforced a reduction of $2.8 billion. In total, the party aims to slash about $3.3 billion from the budget. The Democratic Party has declared that it will not engage in budget discussions without the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol and plans to pass the reduced budget in the National Assembly’s plenary session on Dec. 10, the final day of the regular session.

Policy Committee Chair Jin Seong-joon noted, “We are thinking about cutting additional $487 million, reflecting the recent insurrection situation.” He added, “With the president effectively facing impeachment and the ruling party discussing a suspension of his duties, we believe further reducing the budget for the presidential office is appropriate.”

Jin also mentioned, “When the president leaves office, he will reside in a private residence. Although the budget for the private residence was not included in next year’s budget, we deemed the security budget for the former president unnecessary and thus made cuts.” This implies that even if President Yoon, who is under investigation for insurrection charges, steps down, immediate security for the former president would not be required.

Democratic Party’s spokesperson Han Min-soo added, “President Yoon will be held accountable both in the eyes of history and under the law.”

Democratic Party Policy Committee Chair Jin Seong-joon speaks during a stock market revitalization task force meeting with business leaders at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Nov. 29. /Yonhap

Jin further stated, “If the president is inactive, the presidential secretariat becomes unnecessary. Therefore, we plan to cut the salaries of public officials at the secretary level and above.” He continued, “Including these, we see the need for an additional budget reduction and intend to process the revised budget accordingly.”

The additional cut also includes reductions to what the party deems unnecessary budgets within the Ministry of Unification, such as programs aimed at promoting global experiences related to Korean unification and fostering domestic and international consensus on North Korean human rights. Jin remarked, ‘We consider these budgets entirely unnecessary.’