| Korea Times / November 9, 2004
By Park Song-wu
The Grand National Party (GNP) decided Monday to block the government’s 10-trillion-won ($9 billion) economic stimulus program, saying it is a policy that will impose debt on future generations.
With the swift decision to thwart the ``risky’’ project, the opposition party heralded another round of political wrangling in the National Assembly, which is already swamped with more than 500 bills waiting to be addressed.
Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, top policy-maker of the GNP, criticized the government for its attempt to pour the national pension funds into ``unprofitable’’ social projects, which he believes will eventually lead to tax increases.
``The government will be judged by history for this wrong policy designed to temporarily boost the economy but have the next generation end up paying for our debts,’’ Lee said.
The GNP’s strong protest came a day after the ruling camp officially announced its ``New Deal’’ project aimed at creating more than 400,000 jobs, boosting consumption and mobilizing outdated industrial facilities.
The project would allow the government to funnel pension funds, including the Civil Servant Pension Fund and the National Housing Fund, into social overhead capital projects in the second half of next year.
Rep. Chun Yu-ok, spokeswoman of the conservative party, said it doesn’t make sense to use the pension funds, as they are already infamous for mismanagement. ``The government should not just inject every kind of nutrient into this patient to resuscitate it,’’ she said.
Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the GNP, had earlier signaled her clear opposition to the ruling camp’s plan to increase government expenditure, saying it is a ``narcotic’’ that will only hype the economy temporarily.
During her speech to the National Assembly on Oct. 27, she said the GNP will seek policies for a ``small government and big market,’’ a countermeasure to the ruling camp’s attempt to introduce a Korean version of the ``New Deal'' that was driven by former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s.
The government initiative has to get the green light from the Assembly, which is waiting to review a total of 61 economy-related bills, especially those linked to the management of pension funds and the private investment on public sectors.
The ruling party presented a revision bill on the pension funds in June this year to allow them to invest in real estate and stock markets. But the GNP was strongly opposed to the Uri Party’s initiative, delaying the bills being passed in the Assembly.
Uri Party officials said that the GNP is focusing its efforts on criticizing government policies without presenting any alternatives.
The country’s economy has been reeling from lackluster domestic spending, stemming from huge household debt and the growing youth unemployment rate.
The government has used a package of economic stimulus measures, including rate cuts and supplementary budgets, but these have not produced the desired results.
im@koreatimes.co.kr
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