Park to deliver speech to stress reform of state-run organizations

President Park Geun-hye will deliver her first budget speech since her inauguration on Monday by visiting the National Assembly.

At the speech concerning the stage budget for 2014, Park will present various blueprints to put into practice four major policy directions of her administration.

“(The president) will focus on two points: the first budget speech conducted in the first year since her inauguration, and a speech meant to explain budget plans as the head of the administrative branch,” said a source at the presidential office on Sunday. “She will explain major policies implemented this year, and announce policy priorities for the next year.”

President Park will reportedly stress that next year’s state budget plan has been set to heavily focus on public welfare and job creation in order to deal with social welfare and economic growth despite difficult fiscal environment.

Park will reportedly disclose her administration’s commitment to far-reaching reform of state-run companies and organizations. The move is meant to correct the abnormal situation wherein only state-run organizations are enjoying excessive welfare benefits compared with private enterprises, at a time when the public are suffering heavily amid sluggish sentiment in people’s economic livelihoods.

The president will also reportedly emphasize that the National Assembly must urgently deliberate on bills meant to improve people’s livelihoods, particularly bills aimed at galvanizing the realty market that is in a deep slump. While stressing her commitment to keeping election pledges, she will likely announce her administration’s bid to do its best to raise the necessary resources through galvanizing of the economy and adjustment of budgetary expenditure structure, rather than raising taxes.

Attention is focusing on whether President Park will present political solutions that may be able to resolve the deep impasse in the nation’s politics. “The president will make comments in the political arena, but her speech will unlikely include comments that may be able to resolve the political stalemate,” said a source at the presidential office. “An independent council probe, which suggested by the opposition parties as solution to the political limbo, is a matter to be handled by the National Assembly, and the ruling party cannot accept the case, which is under investigation by prosecutors.”

President Park will be the fourth president to deliver a budget speech at the National Assembly after President Roh Tae-woo (1988), Roh Moo-hyun (2003) and Lee Myung-bak (2008).