South Korea's Opposition to Pass 2025 Budget Bill

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea's main opposition party announced on Tuesday its intention to pass the government budget bill for 2025, a move that led to President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree last week. This decision will take place during a plenary session scheduled for later today.

Last month, the opposition-controlled parliament reduced the government's proposed budget of 677.4 trillion won ($473 billion) by 4.1 trillion won.

Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung stated, "We will pass the budget bill today," emphasizing that a swift passage would help address the current unease and crisis.

The government warned that the budget cuts could immobilize basic government operations, impair responses to external challenges, and delay policies meant to assist small businesses and vulnerable populations.

President Yoon cited the obstructionist tactics of the opposition regarding government budgets as one reason for his martial law decree on Dec. 3, which has sparked a constitutional crisis in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Senior Democratic Party lawmaker Park Chan-dae suggested that if the government sought funding for essential services, it could later address this through an extra budget.

The South Korean treasury bond market has weakened, with three-year treasury bond futures declining by 0.10 points to 106.79.

Kong Dong-rak, a fixed-income analyst at Daishin Securities, commented, "If finalized, that will ease uncertainty but the market is expected to react somewhat sensitively and emotionally to the prospects of an extra budget."