The National Assembly’s House Steering Committee passed next year’s budget plan for agencies that fall under its jurisdiction on Friday.
During a full session, the committee passed a motion to slash spending for the presidential office and the Office of National Security by some 200 million won to 103 billion won, or around 80 million U.S. dollars.
The committee also approved an expansion of the National Assembly’s spending by more than 36 billion won to roughly 788 billion won for projects on building big data platforms and for salaries of staffers below grade six.
The committee also passed a budget of some 42 billion won for the National Human Rights Commission, which will go to projects on climate change and the development of policies on human rights.
During Friday’s session, the rival camps clashed over the Supreme Court upholding a one-year prison sentence for the mother-in-law of President Yoon Suk Yeol for fabricating bank balance certificates and fraudulently signing a real estate contract.
Main opposition Democratic Party Rep. Park Sang-hyuk sought to call on the presidential office to issue an apology but was stopped after ruling People Power Party lawmaker Yun Jae-ok, who heads the steering committee, turned off Park’s microphone, saying the question was not budget-related.