Ando Geol Deputy Minister of Finance: "National Debt and Balance Will Improve Over the Next 5 Years"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Ministry of Economy and Finance forecasted that over the next five years until 2025, key fiscal aggregate indicators such as national debt and fiscal balance will improve compared to previous projections.

On the 28th, the Ministry held a meeting with fiscal experts at the Seoul Regional Public Procurement Service building, chaired by Second Vice Minister Ando Geol, to share the direction for establishing the 2021?2025 National Fiscal Management Plan. This outlook reflects economic recovery and an increase in tax revenue compared to the 2020?2024 plan.

The Ministry establishes a National Fiscal Management Plan every five years, which includes indicators such as national debt and fiscal balance, as well as forecasts for total revenue and plans for total expenditure, and revises and announces it annually.

This year’s National Fiscal Management Plan will focus on supporting the faithful implementation of key policies emphasized by the Moon Jae-in administration, such as the Korean New Deal and 2050 Carbon Neutrality, under the next government as well. While continuing the fiscal role for economic recovery, it will also reorganize projects temporarily increased during the crisis response to secure additional resources. In the budget formulation process for next year, the plan aims to pursue active fiscal policy and ensure fiscal sustainability.

At the meeting, there was consensus on the need for proactive preparation so that fiscal rules can be applied starting in 2025. However, experts recommended maintaining an expansionary fiscal stance until next year to end the COVID-19 crisis.

Regarding investment directions for economic recovery, discussions focused intensively on supporting the competitiveness of small business owners and self-employed individuals, creating jobs and strengthening future-adaptive vocational training for youth, women, and vulnerable workers, and providing support to address learning loss and educational disparities caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

Vice Minister Ahn said, "We will faithfully reflect the fiscal management stance discussed at this fiscal strategy meeting and the related expert recommendations in the future establishment of the National Fiscal Management Plan and the budget formulation process for next year." He added, "In particular, when formulating next year’s budget, we will focus on securing a large amount of new investment resources through bold expenditure restructuring and orderly reorganization of projects temporarily increased during the crisis, and reallocating them to inclusive and innovative sectors."

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