Opposition Party Suggests Vaccine-Focused Supplementary Budget... Hong Says "No Plans at All"

Ruling Party Embarrassed by Vaccine Supply Controversy, Discusses One-Point Supplementary Budget
Ministry of Economy and Finance Can Utilize Budget, Reserve Funds, and National Treasury Debt Burden Actions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Recently, as concerns over vaccine supply have raised the necessity for vaccine development, the Democratic Party of Korea is beginning discussions on a one-point supplementary budget (supplementary budget) for domestic vaccine production. This is because proactive self-development of vaccines is important in preparation for the prolonged infectious disease situation. However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the fiscal authority, has stated that it will provide support through future budgets, contingency funds, and national treasury debt burden acts.

According to the Democratic Party on the 1st, it has been confirmed that there is a consensus within the party that active response is necessary regarding the 'vaccine supply controversy.' A Democratic Party lawmaker said, "Recently, there have been opinions within the party that active responses are needed regarding the vaccine supply controversy," adding, "It is necessary to maximize government support in preparation for the possibility of continued infectious disease outbreaks."

In fact, Jeong Chun-sook, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, previously stated, "Self-development of vaccines is important," and argued, "A one-point supplementary budget for domestic vaccine production is necessary to support phase 3 clinical trials and expand new vaccine platform infrastructure."

The government opposes the formation of a supplementary budget, citing that the budget for COVID-19 vaccine development is sufficient, as well as contingency funds and national treasury debt burden acts.

Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, dismissed the idea on the 27th, saying, "The Ministry of Economy and Finance has no plans at all, so such talk is inappropriate." He added, "The government has means such as the existing budget, contingency funds, and the national treasury debt burden act." The scale that can be supported through the national treasury debt burden act this year amounts to 1.5 trillion won.

According to Article 25 of the National Finance Act, "Debt burden acts may be made each fiscal year when necessary for disaster recovery." The national treasury debt burden act is an act of entering into contracts that impose obligations on the state beyond the budget, used after utilizing both the existing budget and contingency funds.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in the past 10 years, the national treasury debt burden act has only been used twice: in 2011 (682.7 billion won for flood recovery) and in 2020 (1.3 trillion won for flood recovery).

A government official stated, "Since the existing budget has not been fully utilized yet, there is room," adding, "There is absolutely no situation to form a supplementary budget."

Meanwhile, the government plans to invest 68.7 billion won in domestic pharmaceutical companies developing COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, five pharmaceutical companies in Korea are conducting vaccine clinical trials, and two companies are expected to be able to conduct phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials by the end of the year. The government anticipates that approval for use could be obtained as early as the end of this year or early next year.

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