Democratic Party strikes first with criticism of Interior Ministry officials during parliamentary audit

A Democratic Party National Assembly member took aim at Governor Choo Mi-ae's Gyeonggi Province administration's declaration of a "financial emergency" even before the Gyeonggi Province legislative audit began.

Rep. Chae Hyun-il (Democratic Party, Yeongdeungpo Gap, Seoul) questioned during a National Assembly Interior and Safety Committee legislative audit on the 6th whether Gyeonggi Province's declared "financial emergency" met the Interior Ministry's financial crisis criteria. Minister Yoon replied that it was "neither a financial crisis nor a caution situation" according to the Interior Ministry standards.

A member from the same party as Governor Choo questioned the basis for the emergency declaration, and the minister in charge of local finance provided a response stating it did not meet the official crisis criteria.

According to Interior Ministry responses presented by Rep. Chae, debt ratios exceeding 25% of the budget are classified as "caution," while those exceeding 40% are classified as "crisis." In the second quarter of this year, Gyeonggi Province's debt ratio was 13.71%, falling short of the caution threshold on that indicator.

Regarding the background of Gyeonggi Province's emergency declaration, Minister Yoon explained: "It seems the Gyeonggi governor is citing that the current debt amount has nearly reached the local bond issuance limit, making it impossible to increase debt further. In such cases, one can request from the Interior Ministry to increase the local bond issuance limit."

This questioning demonstrates that disputes over Gyeonggi Province's financial emergency declaration are expanding from the provincial assembly to the National Assembly. With the financial issue raised first at a central government ministry audit rather than during a direct audit of the province, follow-up questions regarding the basis for the declaration and subsequent responses are expected to continue during future Gyeonggi Province legislative audits.

The key issue is the specific reason Gyeonggi Province felt compelled to declare an emergency in a situation that falls short of the government's official crisis criteria. The province's anticipated scale of tax revenue shortfall, actual available resources, and capacity for local bond issuance are expected to be key materials for verifying the basis of the judgment.

The appropriateness of budget restructuring implemented due to financial difficulties is also likely to be addressed together. Expected questions include what criteria were used for reductions by project, whether necessary project budgets were prioritized, and what measures have been prepared to address gaps in welfare support.

However, the Interior Ministry's response that it is neither a financial crisis nor a caution situation under its standards does not mean there are no difficulties in Gyeonggi Province's budget operations. The distinction between designating a statutory financial crisis and the province's own judgment on emergency response needs to be carefully considered. Gyeonggi Province must explain the reasons for the need for austerity measures apart from official crisis criteria using objective figures and data.

The Choo Mi-ae Gyeonggi Province administration, facing two legislative audits by the National Assembly Interior and Safety Committee and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, faced questioning from ruling party members before the direct audit of the province itself. How persuasively the province explains the basis for the financial emergency declaration and budget priorities is expected to be a major task for the first legislative audit.