Yoon to make budget speech at National Assembly next week

SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to give a budget speech at the National Assembly next week, outlining his government's spending plan for next year, the presidential office said Friday.

In the address set for next Tuesday, Yoon is expected to ask for bipartisan support for the 2023 budget plan, according to Yoon's office.

It would be Yoon's second budget speech. On May 16, or just six days after since his inauguration, Yoon made a speech at the National Assembly on an extra budget.

Next week's speech comes amid worsening political conditions, as Lee Jae-myung, the head of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) called for an independent counsel investigation into a corruption scandal that led to an arrest warrant request for one of his closest aides.

Lee urged Yoon and the ruling People Power Party to agree to a special prosecutor investigation into the development corruption scandal in Seongnam, including allegations of irregularities involving Yoon.

In an inteview with CBS radio, Rep. Jin Sung-joon, the DP's vice floor leader, indicated that the main opposition party may consider boycotting Yoon's speech.

An official at the presidential office declined to comment on Jin's remarks, while calling for the National Assembly's support for a recovery of people's livelihoods and the economy.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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