The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 2024 budget speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday for lacking reflection on the government’s failure in state affairs and solutions to the current economic situation.

DP floor spokesperson Yoon Young-deok said in a briefing after the speech that the president showed no sense of crisis regarding the current economic conditions and didn't demonstrate any sympathy for the difficulty in the people’s lives or offer up any solutions.

The spokesperson also criticized the President for “making long-winded excuses” for cutting the research and development budget that the opposition classified as essential, while adding that the government’s budget contained seemingly random cuts without any clear vision.

Meanwhile, People Power Party (PPP) chief Kim Gi-hyeon praised the president’s speech, saying that the address clearly demonstrated the administration’s will to reduce frivolous spending and utilize the funds properly to provide more effective support for those in need.

During Tuesday’s budget speech, President Yoon called for bipartisan support to pass the government's 2024 budget proposal of 657 trillion-won, or 487 billion U.S. dollars, while vowing to stick to a sound fiscal policy next year in order avoid imposing debt on future generations.