The main opposition People Power Party has upped its pressure on President Lee Jae Myung by accusing him of hiding truths and avoiding critical issues in his latest parliamentary address.
In a speech at the National Assembly on Monday, President Lee called for support for the government's 820.9 trillion won ($611.3 billion) budget proposal for 2027. In his remarks, he said that the net increase of the national debt "amounts to nearly zero" despite his administration's new sovereign bond issuance plan, because he had used "almost all" of the new debt to repay existing debt.
Opposition party lawmakers interrupted the speech, with one saying, "Why issue new sovereign bonds?"
Lee responded, "If you have anything that you have to say, please do so, then I will take over afterwards."
Another opposition party lawmaker was heard saying, "Your (criminal) trials should resume," referring to the five criminal trials against him that were suspended indefinitely shortly after his inauguration in June 2025.
Lee stopped the People Power Party from interrupting further, saying, "What I consistently hear is a mere interruption (of my address). I wished you had shared specific opinions. May I continue?"
As Lee ended his speech, most People Power Party lawmakers, except for six-term lawmaker Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae, walked out of the main hall without any personal exchanges with Lee.
This contrasts with the atmosphere during Lee's speech at the parliament seven months ago, when most People Power Party lawmakers shook hands with the president afterward.
People Power Party chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok wrote on his Facebook that Lee's address to the parliament Monday did not reveal "what the public wanted to know," citing issues including housing affordability, concerns about Seoul's relationship with Washington, North Koreanprovocations, and the liberal bloc's overhaul of the criminal justice system.
"Lee eventually just said what he wanted to say in his speech and left," Jang wrote.
Rep. Park Soo-young of the People Power Party claimed Lee had lied about the national debt. He cited his own figures based on the government's plan that showed a net national debt increase of 96.3 trillion won. He also claimed that only half of the 222.8 trillion won in new bonds to be issued next year would be used to repay national debt, as only 110.7 trillion won worth of government bonds was set to mature.
Ahead of the speech, Lee was confronted at the National Assembly by scores of People Power Party lawmakers protesting the administration's decision to create a 162.3 trillion won fund using a tax revenue windfall from the chip industry. The lawmakers held placards saying that creating the fund instead of reducing fiscal liabilities would "pass (the debt) on to the future generations."
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, a five-term People Power Party lawmaker, wrote on his Facebook that now was not the time to be blinded by the chip boom, but to prepare for future crises.
"If you don't reduce debt during the boom, when will you ever be able to?" he wrote.
On Sunday, the People Power Party said it wanted to cut 30 trillion won from the 2027 budget proposal.
It also criticized the ruling bloc for creating the 162.3 trillion won fund. It said it wanted to direct 104 trillion won from the fund toward repaying the national debt, instead of using it to distribute money to the public, which it said the ruling bloc could do ahead of a future election.
The People Power Party also protested the ruling bloc's attempt to use their political power to interfere in Lee's trials, which the party claimed would ultimately cancel all of Lee's criminal indictments.
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