Government Includes Collaboration Budget for 'Self-Employed Structural Transformation and Domestic Vaccine Development'... Incentives Such as Preliminary Feasibility Study

3rd Fiscal Management Strategy Committee... Expansion to 17 Key Collaborative Budget Projects
Advancement of Remote K-Education

Ando-geol, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is speaking at the 3rd Fiscal Management Strategy Committee held at the Seoul Regional Public Procurement Service in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 13th. 2021.5.13 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seonhee] The government has decided to significantly expand the collaborative budget when drafting next year's budget. The collaborative budget is a system where multiple ministries jointly plan budget projects and review related budgets as a package.

On the morning of the 13th, Ando Geol, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, chaired the '3rd Fiscal Management Strategy Committee' at the Seoul Regional Public Procurement Service building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and discussed the direction for next year's collaborative budget formulation. The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to expand the key collaborative budget tasks from the existing 12 to 17, and especially add new tasks requiring cross-ministerial collaboration, including ▲structural transformation and competitiveness enhancement of self-employed businesses ▲research and development (R&D), technology, and skilled workforce training, relocation, and nurturing projects in response to industrial structural changes ▲domestic vaccine development and establishment of a vaccine hub.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance intends to provide bold incentives for the collaborative budget, such as prioritizing selection for preliminary feasibility study projects, preferential allocation for new projects, and maximizing increases for ongoing projects with excellent execution and performance. In this regard, a task force (TF) composed of relevant ministries and experts will be formed to jointly plan new projects and coordinate investment plans, with the aim of preparing and submitting related budget requests by the end of this month.

In response to the widespread adoption of remote education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government is promoting the 'Remote K-Education Advancement Project' at the cross-ministerial level. The goal is to develop and distribute IT and artificial intelligence (AI)-based educational content and establish a remote education system throughout the life cycle, covering not only elementary, middle, and high school education but also lifelong education. In this regard, following the establishment of the Informatization Strategic Plan (ISP) during last year's 3rd supplementary budget, the project was also selected for expedited preliminary feasibility study initiation in April. Based on this, the government plans to reflect the main project budget as much as possible when drafting next year's budget.

The government is also promoting efficiency improvements to enhance the sustainability of the Employment Insurance Fund, whose expenditures have significantly increased following the employment crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employment Insurance Fund expenditures rose from 11.5778 trillion won in 2018 to 20.4653 trillion won last year, nearly doubling in just two years.

With the government's plans for nationwide employment insurance and the industrial structural changes brought about by the 4th Industrial Revolution, the role of the Employment Insurance Fund is expected to become even more important in the future. Accordingly, the government plans to reflect efficiency improvements in the fund, including normalization of temporary increased projects due to COVID-19 response, in next year's budget proposal.

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