Ruling Party and Government to Reflect Over 20 Trillion KRW for Korean New Deal in Next Year's Budget

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The Democratic Party of Korea and the government decided on the 20th to allocate more than 20 trillion won in the next year's government budget for the Korean New Deal project. Specifically, 7 to 8 trillion won each was assigned to the Digital New Deal and the Green New Deal, and 5 to 6 trillion won was allocated for safety net establishment.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Tae-ho and First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Kim Yong-beom announced this at a briefing of the '1st Korean New Deal Party-Government Promotion Headquarters Meeting' held at the National Assembly on the same day. At the briefing, Lawmaker Jeong stated, “We discussed this year’s implementation plan for major Korean New Deal tasks, the expansion of fiscal investment for next year, and the creation plan for a public participation Korean New Deal Fund.” He added, “More than 1 trillion won was added during confidential consultations compared to the originally announced plan,” and “The overall scale is expected to exceed 20 trillion won next year. Specifically, 7 to 8 trillion won will be allocated to the Digital New Deal and the Green New Deal, and 5 to 6 trillion won to the safety net.”

Lawmaker Jeong explained, “There are three projects that require urgent initiation. The Green Smart School, undergrounding of power lines, and smart sewage management system projects are exempt from preliminary feasibility studies (PFS), and we plan to complete the review of the appropriateness of the project plans by the end of the year and proceed accordingly.”

Vice Minister Kim said, “To maximize the catalytic effect of fiscal spending, the government will promote early execution of the Korean New Deal projects and prioritize their inclusion in next year’s budget.” He added, “We will complete 100 percent execution of the 4.8 trillion won prepared in this year’s third supplementary budget in the second half of the year, and reflect more than 20 trillion won for the Korean New Deal projects in the next year’s budget, which is currently being finalized.”

In response to reporters’ questions on how to persuade opposition parties against the budget, he replied, “We can sufficiently explain that these projects are aligned with new visions such as low carbon and renewable energy, unlike traditional SOC projects.”

Regarding the public participation Korean New Deal Fund, he emphasized, “We are planning a scheme that can capture both stability and profitability,” and “We will announce concrete plans by September.”

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