[Reporter’s Notebook] 59 Trillion to 33 Trillion... Did the Ruling Party and Government 'Intentionally Downplay' Fiscal Expenditure?

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho is delivering opening remarks at the second supplementary budget party-government consultation related to compensation for small business losses held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] 33 trillion won + alpha (α) → 59.4 trillion won.

The scale of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's first supplementary budget (supplementary budget) jumped by more than 20 trillion won in a single day. On the 11th, the ruling party and government proposed a second supplementary budget scale of 33 trillion won + α. However, the next day, the government announced a scale approaching 60 trillion won. The ruling party and government, who surely knew the details, first disclosed a figure that was 26 trillion won less than the actual amount the day before.

The explanation is as follows. According to the National Finance Act, the general expenditure excluding the amount sent to local governments due to excess tax revenue (local allocation tax of 23 trillion won) is 36.4 trillion won, and including this, the total supplementary budget amount is 59.4 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The figure that the ruling party and government announced as if it were the ‘total supplementary budget’ appears to refer to this general expenditure. This is a clear ‘terminology error.’

Is it a simple mistake? No. A senior official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance said about the ruling party and government’s announcement, "It was thoroughly discussed," and "It was to emphasize the actual support scale for small business owners and quarantine excluding the allocation tax."

In other words, it is explained as an ‘intentional error.’ From the ruling party’s perspective, they probably wanted to appeal that they had ‘created 50 trillion won as promised’ by combining it with the first supplementary budget (16.9 trillion won). The Ministry of Economy and Finance likely wanted to avoid criticism of the policy contradiction of prioritizing ‘price management’ while simultaneously launching the largest-ever ‘money supply.’ This may seem trivial but is not a minor issue. It is a crafty attempt to ‘blind the public’ regarding the rapidly increased fiscal expenditure immediately after the new government took office.

Looking back at the previous Moon Jae-in administration, economic officials in power deliberately ignored the difficult livelihood situations and continued to praise themselves. In particular, the statement that ‘Korea’s housing price increase rate is only 5.4%’ (Lee Ho-seung, former Blue House Policy Chief) infuriated citizens suffering from housing price burdens.

Such behavior must not be repeated in the new government. Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Choo Kyung-ho said in his inaugural speech, "It is natural to want to show only the good side, but have the courage to honestly reveal even the painful parts." The economic situation is severe. The new government’s economic team must accurately and honestly disclose policies and their results to the public.

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