The National Assembly is scheduled to hold a three-day interpellation on state affairs this week, with the government tax and welfare policies likely to take center stage.
Attention is focused on the interpellation as it starts on Wednesday, the second anniversary of President Park Geun-hye’s conservative administration.
It also comes after Lee Wan-koo, Park’s choice for prime minister, won parliamentary confirmation last week. Park’s replacement of the country’s No. 2 leader is seen as her attempt to try and refresh her team as she enters her third year in power.
The interpellation sessions will cover political affairs, foreign policy, unification policy and national security, as well as policies related to the economy, education, social affairs and cultural affairs.
Topping the agenda are the government’s policies on the economy, especially tax and welfare policies, according to parliamentary sources.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy is widely expected to call for the government to raise the corporate tax rate amid controversy over the government’s dwindling welfare budget.
Since taking office in February 2013, the Park administration has been dogged by questions about whether it will be able to implement all of the expensive welfare projects she promised without raising taxes.
South Korea’s corporate tax rate on taxable income exceeding 20 billion won (US$18.1 million) was lowered from 25 percent to 22 percent during the preceding Lee Myung-bak administration.
The government has also come under flak in recent months for jacking up tobacco prices, pushing to reform civil service pensions and introducing a revised tax settlement scheme, all of which critics argue are designed to squeeze more money out of ordinary wage earners.
The upcoming interpellation is part of the current extra parliamentary session that started on Feb. 2 and is scheduled to run till March 3. (Yonhap)
