An Il-hwan, 2nd Vice Minister of Finance, "Overcoming Crisis and Economic Rebound Are Fiscal Challenges... Medium-Term Management Direction Is Important"

Chairing the 2021-2025 National Fiscal Management Plan Policy Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Ahn Il-hwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, emphasized that this year should be regarded as the first year of overcoming the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis and economic rebound, and stressed the need for deep consideration in establishing a medium-term fiscal management plan.

On the morning of the 8th, Vice Minister Ahn chaired a policy meeting on the "2021-2025 National Fiscal Management Plan" at the Government Seoul Office and made these remarks. The meeting was organized to review the conditions and challenges facing our economy and finances, and to gather expert opinions on the medium-term fiscal policy direction and key agenda items. Experts attending included Kim Jeong-hoon, President of the Fiscal Policy Research Institute; Kang Dong-soo, Vice President of the Korea Development Institute (KDI); Kim Young-soo, Vice President of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade; Kang Hye-gyu, Vice President of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs; and Professor Lee Geun of Seoul National University.

At the meeting, Vice Minister Ahn said, "This year is a critical period to completely overcome the COVID-19 crisis as soon as possible and achieve economic rebound results," adding, "In particular, efforts to improve the economic structure in preparation for the future and to leap forward as a leading economy must accelerate." He continued, "To this end, it is necessary to ensure the smooth execution of this year's expansively budgeted funds, as well as to deeply consider the fiscal policy direction for next year's budget formulation and the establishment of the medium-term fiscal management plan."

Key challenges to be considered in the process of establishing the National Fiscal Management Plan include: ▲ proactive efforts to mitigate economic shocks caused by structural changes in our society such as low birthrate and aging population; ▲ discovering and nurturing new growth engines as game changers to lead the future of the Korean economy, to prevent the trend of declining growth trajectory from becoming entrenched; ▲ efforts to embrace and support marginal companies and vulnerable households that appear during crisis response; ▲ and measures to maintain fiscal sustainability through total volume management, including the establishment of implementation plans and the identification of medium- to long-term fiscal reform tasks.

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