President Moon: "Step-by-step daily recovery from November... Next year's budget aimed at daily recovery" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in announced that starting next month, the government will begin a 'gradual return to daily life,' and stated that next year's budget is aimed at 'restoring daily life and livelihoods from the COVID-19 crisis.' While emphasizing the necessity of expansionary fiscal policy, he also added that 'harmony with fiscal soundness' was taken into consideration.

On the morning of the 25th, President Moon delivered the budget address for next year at the National Assembly, saying, "The government has expanded next year’s budget to 604.4 trillion won for 'complete recovery and the nation's future.'"

President Moon said, "Considering this year's original budget and supplementary budget, we have maintained an expansionary stance," and emphasized the advantages of expansionary fiscal policy by stating, "During the COVID-19 crisis, expansionary fiscal policy led the recovery of the economy and employment, which in turn increased tax revenues, creating a virtuous cycle that also helped fiscal soundness."

He continued, "There is still a long way to go for complete recovery. We must not miss the right timing to transition to a leading economy," and stressed, "The role of fiscal policy will inevitably remain significant next year."

In this regard, he announced that the gradual return to daily life from COVID-19 will begin next month. President Moon said, "With a first-dose vaccination rate exceeding 80% of the total population and a full vaccination rate over 70%, we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world," and added, "Based on stable quarantine measures and high vaccination rates, the gradual return to daily life will be fully implemented starting in November."

While emphasizing the role of expansionary fiscal policy for recovery, President Moon also stated that considerations for sustainability were not neglected. He said, "On the other hand, fiscal soundness and sustainability cannot be overlooked," and added, "The government has utilized fiscal capacity to overcome the crisis while striving to harmonize with fiscal soundness, and this spirit is reflected in next year’s budget."

He also expressed the intention to use this year’s excess tax revenue to repay national debt and secure fiscal soundness. President Moon said, "The tax revenue this year is expected to exceed the amount projected when the budget was submitted to the National Assembly," and stated, "The government expects to contribute to improving fiscal soundness by using some of the additional tax revenue to ease the difficulties of the people and to repay national debt."

President Moon explained, "Next year’s budget will prioritize protecting the health and lives of the people from COVID-19 and providing strong support to vulnerable groups," and added, "We plan to newly purchase 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, securing a total of 170 million doses. To support the return to daily life, we will secure sufficient hospital beds and expand specialized infectious disease hospitals by region."

He also promised to address inequalities caused by COVID-19. President Moon said, "We will achieve an inclusive recovery that reduces COVID-19 disparities and inequalities so that everyone can feel the warmth of recovery," emphasizing the increase in the guarantee levels of seven major benefits, the complete abolition of the support obligation criteria for livelihood benefits, the pilot project for Korea-style sickness benefits, new employment insurance benefits for platform workers, and increased compensation for national veterans.

In particular, he pledged to strengthen support for young people struggling due to COVID-19, promising to expand the youth employment support budget, reduce housing burdens, and realize half-price support for the middle class, while also anticipating the expansion of local government resources through the second phase of fiscal decentralization.

Investment will also be made in transitioning to a future-oriented economic structure such as carbon neutrality. President Moon said, "2022 will be the first year of carbon neutrality implementation, and we will boldly invest about 12 trillion won in fiscal resources," and stated, "We will more than double the supply of eco-friendly vehicles compared to this year to achieve a cumulative supply target of 500,000 vehicles." He also expressed intentions to actively invest in eco-friendly initiatives such as expanding renewable energy supply and establishing a 2.5 trillion won climate response fund.

President Moon said, "We have also focused on investments to protect the safety of the people and improve their quality of life," noting, "The defense budget has been expanded to 55.2 trillion won, and we will boldly invest over 20 trillion won in the three major disaster safety areas: natural disaster prevention, protection of citizens’ lives, and improvement of living environments."

He requested bipartisan discussions, saying, "Next year’s budget is our government’s last budget and the first budget for the next government," and pledged, "We will devote ourselves to overcoming the crisis until the very end and do our best to achieve complete daily life recovery and economic recovery."

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