Oh Kihyung: "Supplementary Budget Should Be Used for Proactive Response, Even If It Seems Excessive"

Price Cap Helps Cushion 30% Oil Price Surge

Proposal to Increase Government Share in Solar Veranda Project

Oh Kihyung, a member of the Democratic Party, argued on April 6 that the government should "respond proactively and decisively" to the crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict through a supplementary budget.

During the government-wide questioning session at the National Assembly on the same day, Assemblyman Oh requested Hongkeun Park, Minister of Strategy and Finance, to "clearly explain why a supplementary budget is necessary at this time." In response, Minister Park explained, "Oil prices rose significantly in March, and if there had been no relief measures such as a price ceiling, prices could have risen by almost 30%." He added, "There was even an article quoting price experts who predicted that not only oil prices but also petroleum product prices would rise, leading to a consumer price index forecast of 2.9%." According to Minister Park, the government's proactive response has helped cushion the burden for the public.

Minister Hongkeun Park, Minister of Strategy and Finance, is responding to a question from Oh Kihyung, a member of the Democratic Party, during the government-wide economic sector questioning held at the National Assembly on the 6th. Photo by Yonhap News

Assemblyman Oh also stated that the industrial sector is calling for swift execution of the supplementary budget. "When members of the Democratic Party visited the Yeosu petrochemical complex, the first request we heard was to expedite the supplementary budget," he said, emphasizing, "The government must convince the public that speed is of the essence."

Urging the government to act quickly and decisively, Assemblyman Oh stressed, "We must respond preemptively, even to a degree that may seem excessive to others. Only then can we mitigate the shock to our economy."

In addition, regarding the solar panel balcony project, Assemblyman Oh pointed out, "The current government plan allocates 25% to the central government, 50% to local governments, and 25% to households," suggesting, "Let us adjust this ratio so that the central government takes on a greater share and push the project forward boldly." In response, Seonghwan Kim, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, said, "This is something for the National Assembly to decide," and added, "There may be room to differentiate between the metropolitan area and other regions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.