▲ Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (bottom) reads President Yoon Suk Yeol's budget speech during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 4, 2024. (Yonhap)
▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol gives congratulatory remarks at the opening of a small business owners convention at the KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, on Oct. 31, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Yoon-budget speech

Yoon calls for bipartisan cooperation to advance reform agenda, strengthen security

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol called Monday for bipartisan cooperation to push through major reforms for people's livelihoods and strengthen defense against growing security threats posed by North Korea's military cooperation with Russia.

In the parliamentary address read by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Yoon outlined the details of next year's budget of 677.4 trillion won (US$509.7 billion), a 3.2 percent increase from the previous year.

Yoon said the budget proposal prioritizes the government's reform agenda in health care, pension, labor and education to address challenges posed by a low birth rate and an aging population.

"The four major reforms on pension, labor, education and health care are urgent and critical tasks that must be undertaken immediately for the survival of the nation," Yoon said. "The government is committed to complete these reforms despite any challenges."

It marked the first time in 11 years that a sitting president has opted not to deliver the budget speech personally.

Yoon explained projects to boost the low birth rate and requested parliamentary support for creating the Ministry of Population Strategy, a proposed control tower to manage the demographic crisis.

"I urge the National Assembly to swiftly pass the necessary legislation, including the Government Organization Act, to promptly launch the Ministry of Population Strategy," he said.

Yoon also addressed growing security concerns in the wake of North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia, and emphasized the need to strengthen defense and security.

"The recent international security situation and the unlawful military cooperation between North Korea and Russia pose a serious threat to our national security," he said. "We will thoroughly review all possible scenarios to prepare effective countermeasures."

The statutory budget deadline is Dec. 2, though the National Assembly has met this deadline only twice in the past two decades, in 2015 and 2021.

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