The National Assembly has cut 80 billion won ($59 million) from the budget previously allocated for South Korea's official development assistance projects in foreign countries, including some 35 billion won intended for Cambodia, liberal lawmaker Rep. Kim Seung-won said Sunday.
Kim told The Korea Herald that the budget cuts centered around aid intended for Asian countries, adding that he learned the extent of the cuts from the Finance Ministry, but did not disclose how they would be applied.
The news came as the budget cuts gained parliamentary approval on Friday, along with the passage of the 31.8 trillion won extra budget bill that received Cabinet approval Saturday.
Kim earlier said in a Facebook message Saturday that the ruling Democratic Party of Korea will "rectify the leniency" in the foreign aid spike that accompanied the former conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration's expansionary fiscal policy.
Kim is a member of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts which reviewed the extra budget bill in parliament, where the ruling liberal party holds a majority of seats.
Kim also suspected that allocations of aid to Cambodia spiked during Yoon's nearly three-year tenure. According to Kim's office, the budget allocated to Cambodia projects more than doubled from 178.9 billion won in 2022 to 435.3 billion won this year, the sharpest rise among the 27 destinations for South Korean foreign aid, while the government failed to explain how the funds would be accounted for once delivered to Cambodia.
The prosecution earlier suspected that the Yoon administration's spike in foreign aid may be associated with a development project in Cambodia pursued by the Unification Church.
A former director general of the Unification Church was suspected of having improperly sought the influence of Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, via a shaman who had personal ties with her.
The case involving the ex-first lady is now being transferred from the prosecution to a 205-member special counsel team that was launched shortly after liberal President Lee Jae Myung was inaugurated in June.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
