Government: "First Supplementary Budget Execution Rate 88.3%... Exceeding Target"

7th Emergency Fiscal Management Inspection Meeting

Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance An Il-hwan: "Please actively promote expenditure restructuring to maximize fiscal performance"

Ahn Il-hwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks while presiding over the "7th Emergency Fiscal Management Inspection Meeting" held on the 15th at the Government Seoul Office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] It has been revealed that the government executed 88.3% of the 9.9 trillion KRW first supplementary budget prepared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as of the 12th. This far exceeds the 75% execution target within two months.

On the morning of the 15th, An Il-hwan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, chaired the '7th Emergency Fiscal Management Inspection Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office, his first time presiding since taking office, discussing the '2020 Supplementary Budget Implementation Status' and 'Innovation-Oriented Public Procurement Implementation Status and Future Plans.'

Deputy Minister An stated, "Through thorough fiscal project management, we achieved the highest-ever early execution rate in the first quarter (35.3%) and executed 88.3% of the first supplementary budget projects, exceeding the target (75.0%). Fiscal policy contributed +0.2 percentage points to GDP growth in the first quarter, helping to minimize the decline in our economy's growth rate."

However, despite these positive fiscal management results in the first quarter, he viewed the policy environment in the second quarter as still very severe. Deputy Minister An expressed concern, saying, "The domestic COVID-19 situation, which had been calming since April, faced a difficult phase again following a cluster infection at the Itaewon clubs on the 6th. Exports are also showing a sharp decline, and as the economic downturn spreads to manufacturing, the depth and breadth of domestic demand contraction are intensifying."

Deputy Minister An emphasized the prompt payment of emergency disaster relief funds and emergency employment stabilization funds. He said, "The emergency disaster relief fund is a very challenging project to execute, requiring various payment methods such as cash, card points, gift certificates, and prepaid cards depending on the beneficiary's situation. Please manage it meticulously and carefully so that citizens can receive payments quickly and without inconvenience. Also, the Ministry of Employment and Labor should thoroughly prepare to ensure smooth payments according to the detailed plans presented at the 2nd Emergency Economic Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting."

Regarding the Korean New Deal, he stated, "We plan to prepare detailed projects by the end of May. Each ministry should actively discover detailed projects for each initiative and make thorough preparations so that these projects can be executed smoothly immediately upon budget allocation."

Deputy Minister An stressed, "Under limited resources, 'selection and concentration' is crucial to maximize fiscal performance. Each ministry should actively promote expenditure restructuring so that resources are concentrated on projects with significant economic ripple effects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.