An Il-hwan, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, "Will Maintain an Active Fiscal Policy in the 3rd Supplementary Budget and Next Year's Budget Formulation"

Ahn Il-hwan, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. (File photo)

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Ahn Il-hwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated on the 27th, "We plan to maintain an active fiscal management stance to support crisis recovery and economic revival in the process of preparing the 3rd supplementary budget and next year's budget."

On the same day, Vice Minister Ahn held a meeting with fiscal experts, including private members of the Fiscal Policy Advisory Council, at the Government Seoul Office and made these remarks in his opening statement.

At the meeting, he shared the key points discussed at the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in on the 25th, explained the direction of the 3rd supplementary budget, and gathered opinions from experts.

Vice Minister Ahn explained, "At the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting, the ruling party, government, and Blue House reached a consensus on the need for proactive and preemptive fiscal management to overcome the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). We plan to focus on projects with high fiscal investment effects, such as the Korean New Deal, during the 3rd supplementary budget and next year's budget preparation process."

Regarding the 3rd supplementary budget projects, Vice Minister Ahn said, "We are reviewing measures to actively support liquidity supply to small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners who are in urgent need of financial support, as well as key industries and companies. We are also considering ways to strengthen the employment safety net by supporting job retention and creating 550,000+α direct jobs, and expanding the social safety net for low-income and vulnerable groups." He also introduced that projects to boost consumption vitality, revitalize the local economy, and support investment and export recovery are being identified.

Vice Minister Ahn emphasized, "In securing supplementary budget resources, the government plans to promote strong expenditure restructuring and utilize the fiscal capacity secured through this as urgent investment funds. We will push for strong expenditure restructuring on underperforming projects, annual and repetitive projects, and reinvest the saved resources into core projects to enhance the efficiency of fiscal management."

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