Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance: "Supplementary Budget Bill to be Submitted to the National Assembly on the 4th of Next Month... Maximizing the 'Selective' Effect"

The 2nd Fiscal Management Review Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Ahn Il-hwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, said on the 26th regarding this year's first supplementary budget (supplementary budget) for securing funds for the 4th disaster relief payment, "We must maximize the effectiveness of fiscal management by focusing limited resources on necessary areas." This means that the government’s long-standing claim of 'selective purpose' should be maximally preserved.

On the morning of the same day, Vice Minister Ahn presided over the 2nd Fiscal Management Inspection Meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said, "In this supplementary budget as well, we intend to improve the efficiency of fiscal management in line with the direction of 'selecting the damage-concentrated groups and providing them with thicker support'." He explained that the supplementary budget plan is scheduled to go through the Cabinet meeting on the 2nd of next month and then be submitted to the National Assembly on the 4th.

Vice Minister Ahn said, "I earnestly hope that our economy will recover quickly and regain vitality through a virtuous cycle structure of fiscal input," and added, "I pledge to work together with fiscal officials to ensure that not a single penny is wasted in the preparation and execution of the budget."

Once the supplementary budget is submitted to the National Assembly in early next month, it is expected to be approved by mid-month at the earliest after review. Regarding this, Vice Minister Ahn said, "Small business owners who have experienced unprecedented difficulties during the year-end, New Year, and Lunar New Year, which are clearly different from previous years, hope that this supplementary budget will be executed quickly as soon as possible," and urged, "Related ministries should make thorough preparations for execution in advance so that the supplementary budget can be implemented without delay immediately after passing the National Assembly."

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccinations began on the same day. According to the Bank of Korea’s announcement the day before, this year’s economic growth rate is projected at '3.0%'. The economic trend is characterized by a low first half and high second half (2.6% in the first half and 3.4% in the second half).

Vice Minister Ahn emphasized, "We must do our utmost to strengthen resilience to return to the pre-crisis situation," and added, "Rapid and effective fiscal management is necessary so that positive signals of economic improvement centered on exports and investment can lead to domestic demand and employment." He further urged swift fiscal execution, saying, "To mitigate economic fluctuations, the fiscal execution target of 63% in the first half must be achieved without fail."

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