Yong Hye-in, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, on "Who will repay the 100 trillion won?" says "Appropriate spending is necessary in times of crisis"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] On the 18th, Yong Hye-in, a member of the Basic Income Party, confronted Ahn Il-hwan, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, during the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee plenary session when he opposed the 100 trillion won fiscal expenditure by saying "side effects must be considered," stating, "In times of crisis, appropriate fiscal spending must be made."

Yong said through Facebook that afternoon, "Under the guise of fiscal soundness, which has no real substance, the people are suffering. We need to spend not 10 trillion but 100 trillion won."

He criticized, "Even according to the Bank of Korea's analysis, 100 trillion won must be injected to achieve an additional 1.3% growth in nominal GDP. The UK, Japan, and Germany are also spending more than 10% of their GDP and are preparing additional stimulus measures. However, only our country still maintains a sound level with an overwhelmingly low national debt-to-GDP ratio among OECD countries."

Regarding Vice Minister Ahn, he pointed out, "He called me irresponsible when I spoke about the necessity of expansionary fiscal policy. His response had no basis other than the term fiscal soundness. I also said that the 400 million won sales standard during the discussion of the 3rd disaster relief fund was unrealistic. However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance never once listened."

He then criticized the claim that Vice Minister Ahn said after the meeting, "I seem to get angry too easily. What is 100 trillion won?" saying, "It is concerning for the government's decision-making process when a vice minister responsible for responding to an unprecedented economic crisis says he gets angry easily during National Assembly discussions."

Earlier, Yong said, "If 400,000 won per person is paid quarterly, it amounts to 80 trillion won, and if 20 trillion won is spent on loss compensation for small business owners and self-employed, a total of 100 trillion won can be spent," and added, "Instead of the Ministry of Economy and Finance taking a passive stance and restricting fiscal spending, please open discussions so that sufficient fiscal spending can be made this year."

Vice Minister Ahn responded, "While 100 trillion won may have many useful aspects, we must think about how to repay the 100 trillion won," and countered, "Who will repay it and how?"

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