{"id":2199619,"date":"2022-12-01T10:40:52","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T10:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199619"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:53","slug":"how-the-itaewon-crush-investigation-could-block-south-koreas-national-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/12\/how-the-itaewon-crush-investigation-could-block-south-koreas-national-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Itaewon crush investigation could block South Korea\u2019s national budget"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea\u2019s two main political parties <\/span>agreed<\/span><\/a> to launch a special parliamentary investigation into the <\/span>Itaewon tragedy<\/span><\/a>, the crowd crush in central Seoul that claimed at least 158 people on Halloween weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>agreement<\/span><\/a> is vital to the Yoon administration because the investigation, which will include public hearings and agencies\u2019 presentations, will only occur after the two major parties approve the national budget for fiscal year 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n The national budget means a great deal to the ruling People Power Party (PPP) because President Yoon Suk-yeol still has not been able to get his proposed spending through the National Assembly. He <\/span>outlined<\/span><\/a> the details of a $443 billion (639 trillion KRW) budget proposal in his first parliamentary budget speech in October. But Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers, who have majority control of the legislature, signaled their opposition to the budget by <\/span>boycotting the speech<\/span><\/a> after prosecutors raided their party headquarters, thus signaling their intention not to pass his budget bill.<\/span><\/p>\n The two parties reached a compromise. The PPP consented to the special parliamentary investigation into the crowd crush despite initial opposition because it requires the DP\u2019s cooperation to pass the budget bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On the other hand, the DP agreed to approve the budget bill because it sees the parliamentary investigation as an opportunity to seize the narrative and attack the actual or alleged failings of the government and its officials over the Itaewon tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n