Eliminating Wasteful Spending and Rejecting Ticketing Budget... Yoon's Budget: "We Will Spend Where It Matters" (Comprehensive)

Criticizing the Moon administration, "400 trillion won debt increase due to loose fiscal management"
Repeated emphasis on rejecting 'vote-buying politics'... Strengthening welfare for the vulnerable
Cartel budget cut by 23 trillion won... Support for the vulnerable, rule of law, jobs
Exports and future industry investment... Expanding economic foundation with additional deregulation

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 29th, "We will reject election vote-buying budgets and use the saved resources to provide stronger support for the socially vulnerable." This declaration came as the Democratic Party of Korea called for supplementary budgets ahead of next year's general elections, signaling his determination not to engage in vote-buying politics with money. In particular, President Yoon criticized the previous Moon Jae-in administration's budget policy as 'reckless fiscal management' and emphasized, "We will reject fiscal omnipotence."

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office, highlighting the government's budget management policy ahead of the submission of the 2024 budget bill to the National Assembly before the regular session next month. He said, "Some argue that the government should boldly loosen the budget ahead of elections, but this would shift the fiscal burden to future generations and exacerbate difficulties."

President Yoon's stance on maintaining tight and sound fiscal management has been announced several times since the government took office. This is based on the analysis that the aftereffects of the previous administration's reckless fiscal management continue. The national debt, which was 660.2 trillion won in 2017, the first year of the Moon Jae-in administration, increased by 408.6 trillion won to 1,068.8 trillion won last year. During the same period, the national debt-to-GDP ratio soared from 36% to a record high of 49.4%, making fiscal adjustment for the 'future' inevitable, according to President Yoon's judgment.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News

Previous Government's National Debt Increased by 400 Trillion Won... "Reckless Fiscal Management Burdens Future Generations"

On this day, President Yoon also stated, "Due to the previous government's reckless fiscal management, the national debt increased by 400 trillion won and surpassed 1,000 trillion won for the first time last year," adding, "Our government firmly rejects the 'fiscal omnipotence' that the previous administration was deeply immersed in and has clearly shifted to a sound fiscal policy." He particularly mentioned that major international credit rating agencies positively evaluate South Korea's external creditworthiness, explaining, "The reason is our sound fiscal management. To maintain external creditworthiness and stabilize prices, we must steadily continue the sound fiscal policy."

He reiterated his resolve to reject 'vote-buying politics.' President Yoon said, "Some argue that the government should boldly loosen the budget ahead of elections, but expanding spending through government bond issuance shifts the fiscal burden to future generations and will worsen difficulties in corporate activities and the overall livelihood economy due to a decline in national creditworthiness." This means that even if it means sacrificing popularity and elections, the national budget will be properly spent where it is needed. At the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting in June, he stated, "No political power likes unpopular tight and sound fiscal policies," and added, "If political power truly loves the country and its people, it must undertake fiscal dieting for the nation even if it loses elections."

The government’s decision to set the total expenditure for the 2024 budget at 656.9 trillion won, reflecting the lowest growth rate (2.8%) since 2005, aligns with this policy. The aim is to reduce overall spending and lower the debt ratio through strong fiscal normalization to minimize the burden on future generations. While reducing expenditures, the government also presented a blueprint to shift the economic structure to be market-centered and led by the private sector. President Yoon said, "To this end, we will boldly eliminate killer regulations that hinder private investment and reorganize the financial system," adding, "Through the carefully prepared 2024 budget, we will do our best to manage finances frugally and take good care of people's livelihoods."

He also requested the National Assembly's cooperation. President Yoon expressed concern, saying, "About 200 bills submitted to care for the economy, livelihoods, and prepare for future growth are stuck at the National Assembly's doorstep," and warned, "If re-legislation takes a lot of time, the damage will ultimately fall directly on the people." He urged, "Cabinet members should be fully committed and make every effort to ensure that key bills addressing our people's livelihoods and future growth are prioritized for discussion during this regular session."

Reducing Rent-Seeking Cartel Budgets to Expand Welfare for the Vulnerable... "Providing Stronger Support for the Common People and Vulnerable Groups"

On this day, President Yoon explained the next year's government budget, saying, "It is the lowest increase of 2.8% since 2005," and added, "We boldly cut political subsidy budgets and rent-seeking cartel budgets, carrying out a total expenditure restructuring of 23 trillion won." This amount is close to 20% of the government's discretionary spending of about 120 trillion won, excluding statutory mandatory spending, rigid expenses, and essential expenditures from total spending.

However, President Yoon said, "We will focus intensive support on three core areas: realizing genuine welfare for the vulnerable, strengthening the essential functions of the state such as national defense and law and order, and securing growth engines for quality job creation," and announced, "First, by rejecting election vote-buying budgets, we will use the saved resources to provide stronger support for the common people, vulnerable groups, and the socially disadvantaged."

The 2024 budget includes measures for welfare for the vulnerable such as ▲a 213,000 won increase in livelihood benefit payments ▲relaxing the standard median income from 30% to 32% ▲expanding senior jobs by 1.03 million compared to before and raising allowances by 7% ▲additional childcare support for 32,000 single-parent families ▲raising the self-reliant youth allowance from 400,000 won to 500,000 won.

For national defense and public safety, the budget plans to provide ▲low-risk pistols to all field police officers ▲introduce scenario-based suppression training and virtual reality (VR) equipment for simulation training systems ▲improve all 42,000 outdated accommodations for junior officers ▲double service encouragement bonuses for officers and non-commissioned officers ▲add 350,000 won to soldier salaries ▲provide ice water purifiers and police-style sweaters ▲increase veterans' compensation by 5%.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News

Focusing on Securing Growth Engines... "Exports Are the Foundation of Our Economy and the Source of Jobs"

The cut budgets will also be used to foster future industry ecosystems such as space and bio industries to promote exports and secure jobs. The government plans to actively engage in global official development assistance (ODA) for strategic regions such as the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and Ukraine. President Yoon emphasized, "Exports are the foundation of our economy and the source of job creation," and added, "The government will push the 'export drive strategy' even more strongly next year."

To this end, the government will significantly supply export financing to support orders in the nuclear power, defense, and plant sectors and establish a 2 trillion won Startup Korea Fund to create a 'Korean-style Station F,' a free startup space for young entrepreneurs. This appears to be inspired by Station F, the 'Silicon Valley of Paris,' which President Yoon visited during his trip to Paris in June.

Investment subsidies for foreign companies, returning companies, and companies relocating to local areas will also be doubled, especially in advanced sectors. The government plans to simultaneously eliminate regulations and provide budget support to increase investment and broaden the economic base. President Yoon said, "We will invest 4.4 trillion won in four areas: AI (artificial intelligence), bio, cybersecurity, and building a digital platform government," and explained, "To prepare for supply chain instability, we will increase public stockpiles of key minerals such as lithium and rare earths by more than 40% to an average of 60 days' supply."

He also declared the promotion of strategic projects worth 2.5 trillion won to preoccupy future industry ecosystems such as bio and space. The so-called 'Boston-Korea Project,' a global R&D cooperation between Korean research institutes and Boston research institutes laid the groundwork during President Yoon's recent state visit to the United States, will be actively pursued with an investment of 1.8 trillion won.

Another notable point is the significant increase in support for developing countries. The ODA budget for economic and social development and welfare improvement in developing countries has been expanded by 2 trillion won from this year to 6.5 trillion won. ODA investment in strategic regions such as the Indo-Pacific and Africa, which are key to expanding global solidarity, will also increase from 1.4 trillion won to 2 trillion won. The increased ODA budget is a mid- to long-term investment to support the overseas expansion of Korean companies and youth. Additionally, the budget related to Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water has been significantly increased to boost public trust. A total of 740 billion won will be spent to establish a thorough safety monitoring system for Korean waters and seafood in response to the contaminated water discharge.

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