Opposition leader calls for extra budget worth 30 tr won to revive economy
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday urged the government to come up with a supplementary budget worth at least 30 trillion won ($20.6 billion), in a bid to revive the nation's economy and help small businesses.
"The government should not miss the golden time for economic recovery through fiscal expansion," Lee said in a parliamentary speech. "I propose at least 30 trillion won worth of supplementary budget to support people's livelihoods and recover the economy."
Lee said the proposed supplementary budget is aimed at reviving the economy and stimulating sagging growth amid political turmoil triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3.
Lee also highlighted the need for strategic investments in key industries, listing artificial intelligence, biotechnology, content and culture, defense, energy and manufacturing, as priority sectors.
With US President Donald Trump signaling that he may reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Lee called for efforts to resume talks with Pyongyang.
"As President Trump has expressed his willingness to hold a summit with North Korea, our government should urge the North to return to dialogue and ensure that we are not sidelined in North Korea-US negotiations," Lee said.
Lee underscored the need to maintain robust readiness to deal with heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, citing the Yoon administration's hard-line policy stance and North Korea's growing ties with Russia.
"We should reinforce our military readiness and enhance our capabilities to respond to North Korea's nuclear threats, while also keeping communication channels open and continue efforts for dialogue," he said. (Yonhap)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
29 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
Man's wrongful spy charges overturned, 58 years after execution
Court says forced confession and wrongful conviction led to death penalty of innocent in 1967 A man executed after wrongfully being convicted of spying for North Korea has been posthumously exonerated by court, in a retrial held over half a century after his death. Court officials said Wednesday that the Supreme Court confirmed a lower court's not-guilty verdict for the late Oh Gyeong-mu, who was convicted of violating the National Security Act and now-defunct Anti-Communism Act in 1967. A separate retrial in the 2020s also cleared the charges against the younger brother and sister of the deceased. The Oh brothers were lured into North Korea in 1966 by their eldest brother, Oh Gyeong-ji, where they were held for 40 days and subjected to ideological education by the Pyongyang regime. Upon returning to the South, both voluntarily turned themselves in to the authorities. However, prosecutors accused them of acting as North Korean spies, and the court ultimately convicted them on espionage charges. "It cannot be considered that a legally-valid investigation was conducted on the accused, and their confession of crime can be seen as unlawfully acquired evidence through cruelty such as illegal arrest," the 2023 ruling by Seoul Central District Court said, dismissing the confession as an evidence of crime. 'The court would like to offer its deepest condolences to the brutality imposed on the (Oh) family, due to their actions conducted out of love of their family," it added. The prosecution challenged the decision, but both the appellate and the nation's highest court upheld the earlier ruling. The appellate court said Oh Gyeong-mu meeting his older brother was to suggest he turn himself in, due to concern of their mother, and said there was no reason to believe he had any intent of helping the North. Brotherly love leads to death and imprisonment Oh Gyeong-dae, the younger-brother of Oh Gyeong-mu, was a tangerine farmer on Jeju Island in 1966 when he was approached by their long-lost half-brother, Oh Gyeong-ji. The eldest of the three, Gyeong-ji had gone missing during the 1950–53 Korean War. He asked Gyeong-dae to accompany him to Japan, but instead, took him to North Korea. After they returned to the South, Gyeong-ji threatened the youngest brother and forced him to arrange a meeting with Gyeong-mu, who was living in Seoul. The two younger brothers were tricked into going to North Korea, and were received education on ideology of the totalitarian Pyongyang regime before being released 40 days later. Oh Gyeong-mu and Oh Gyeong-dae turned themselves in to the South Korean authorities upon their return, but Seoul's regime under dictatorial leader Park Chung-hee used oppressive means such as torture to force them into false confessions. The older Oh was sentenced to death and the younger Oh received 15 years in prison in a 1967 verdict. The execution was carried out five years later Their younger sister was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for knowingly aiding their spying activities. Oh Gyeong-dae was cleared of his charges in November of 2020, and subsequent rulings have exonerated the wrongful charges against both his siblings.
Korea Herald
3 hours ago
- Korea Herald
UK to purchase fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Reuters) — The British government said Tuesday that it would purchase a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons in what it described as the biggest expansion of its nuclear deterrent in a generation. The purchase of the Lockheed Martin jets would allow Britain's air force to carry nuclear weapons for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Downing Street said. "In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted, which is why my government is investing in our national security," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. Britain is increasing defense spending and upgrading its military forces, including its submarine fleet, as it faces increasing hostility from Russia and as the United States retrenches from its traditional role as a defender of European security. The British government said the purchase of the jets would allow it to contribute so-called dual-capable aircraft to NATO to carry nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said, "this is yet another robust British contribution to NATO." Britain's nuclear deterrent currently rests solely on the Trident submarine-based system, which misfired during a test last year, the second successive test failure after one veered off course in 2016. The last time Britain possessed an independent air-launched nuclear capability was in 1998 when the WE-177 free-fall bomb was withdrawn from service, according to Britain's parliament. Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for battlefield use, as opposed to strategic weapons designed to be fired across vast distances. By purchasing the F-35A fighter jets, Britain would be able to diversify its military options and align more closely with NATO allies such as France and the United States, which maintains land, sea and air-based nuclear capabilities. The F-35A fighter jets are capable of carrying US B61 tactical nuclear weapons. Britain would likely need the United States to supply those weapons for use on the planes, said one British official who declined to be named. The US withdrew its last nuclear weapons from Britain in 2008, in a sign at that time that the threat of conflict following the end of the Cold War was receding. Downing Street said buying the new jets would support about 20,000 jobs in Britain and underline its commitment to NATO. The government has pledged to boost overall defense and security spending to 5 percent of economic output by 2035 to meet a NATO target and said on Tuesday it must "actively prepare" for war at home for the first time in years.
Korea Herald
4 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Veterans minister nominee vows to bridge gap between liberals, conservatives
Veterans Minister nominee Kwon Oh-eul vowed Wednesday to make efforts to foster communication between liberal and conservative groups amid deep political polarization in the country. Kwon voiced the need to bridge the differences between the two sides, two days after being nominated as the first veterans minister of the Lee Jae Myung administration. "If opportunities for dialogue are created frequently, the Taegeukgi and candlelight rallies in Gwanghwamun will be able to communicate and understand each other," he told reporters, referring to the large-scale rallies led by conservative and liberal groups respectively. Kwon, a former three-term lawmaker from the conservative bloc, has stood out among Lee's picks for his Cabinet this week, considering his political background. He joined Lee's presidential campaign this year, pledging to promote centrist and conservative values within Lee's liberal Democratic Party. "I understood the meaning behind the president's nomination of me as veterans minister is to lead national unity and integration by rewarding patriotism," he said. Kwon also paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives during the 1950-53 Korean War as the country marks the 75th anniversary of the conflict's outbreak on Wednesday. He vowed to carry out Lee's Memorial Day pledge to provide "special" compensation for those who made sacrifices for the country. (Yonhap)
