Cheong Wa Dae calls for budget on river project

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office urged the National Assembly
Saturday to pass a proposed budget plan for next year, reaffirming it has no plan
to push for an unpopular cross-country canal project.
The "grand canal" project was one of President Lee Myung-bak's election campaign
pledges aimed at creating jobs and improving logistics.
But Lee announced earlier this year that he would give up the project amid strong
opposition from critics, who argue that the construction of such a canal is only
a political vehicle for the president and would take a severe toll on the
environment and waste a huge amount of money.
The government has instead decided to clean and restore four major rivers across
the nation -- the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan -- in a bid to prevent floods
and cope with water shortages. It is seeking 3.5 trillion won (US$2.98 billion)
in budget for the program. The ruling and opposition parties have been wrangling
for weeks over the size of the budget.
The main opposition Democratic Party said the river restoration project is a
smokescreen for the canal plan. It wants to cut the size of the river project
budget to 1 trillion won and earmark more funds for social welfare and public
education programs.
The presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, refuted the claim and called for an
immediate compromise on the budget with only one week left in the year.
"There is no time to waste anymore for economic recovery and the stabilization of
low-income people," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo said in a statement.
He stressed the need for aggressive fiscal policy to keep up the momentum of the
country's nascent economic recovery and support people's livelihoods.
"Restoration of the four rivers is not the grand canal project," he stressed.
"The Lee Myung-bak government will not push for it."
(END)