Vice Minister Im Gigeun: "Immediate Project Execution Upon Supplementary Budget Passage... Not a Single Day's Delay Allowed"

On April 6, Im Gi-geun, Vice Minister of Planning and Budget, emphasized, "There must not be even a single day's delay in supporting people struggling due to the prolonged Middle East war," and urged, "Ensure that related projects are implemented immediately once the supplementary budget passes the National Assembly."

Im Gi-geun, Deputy Minister of Planning and Budget, is giving opening remarks while presiding over the '7th Fiscal Execution Inspection Meeting' held on the afternoon of the 6th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Planning and Budget Office

Vice Minister Im made these remarks at the 7th Fiscal Execution Review Meeting, which was held jointly with relevant ministries at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido on April 6. During the meeting, participants discussed the current status of preliminary preparations for the execution of the 2026 supplementary budget bill and the results of rapid budget execution in the first half of 2026.

The government submitted a supplementary budget bill totaling 26.2 trillion won to the National Assembly on March 31, aiming to swiftly support citizens, affected businesses, and industries suffering from high oil prices and inflation caused by the Middle East war.

Vice Minister Im stated, "Each ministry should make the most of the National Assembly's deliberation period as preparation time." He added, "In particular, as this supplementary budget significantly strengthens local finances through local allocation taxes and grants, local governments also need to actively help ease the citizens' burdens by preparing for pre-execution in line with the budget's intent and by formulating their own supplementary budgets."

As a result of the meeting, it was decided that preparations for support payments to those affected by high oil prices would be thorough, including establishing beneficiary selection criteria, processing applications, building systems, and operating call centers. Specific matters are expected to be swiftly decided by the pan-government task force for high oil price support payments, headed by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

For the emergency welfare program targeting low-income households in crisis, preparations will be made so that the entire budget can be executed immediately upon passage by the National Assembly. The special management stabilization fund for small business owners will begin accepting applications immediately after passage, with funds scheduled for disbursement within this month.

For the public transportation fare reimbursement program aimed at reducing transportation costs, advance consultations with local governments are underway so that additional benefits can be applied after passage. For the energy voucher program, discussions are ongoing with financial institutions and other parties to provide additional support payments sequentially from this month to low-income and vulnerable households using kerosene or LPG, utilizing existing prepaid cards.

The K-New Deal Academy, a new project to support youth employment, is preparing project guidelines in advance and is currently holding informational sessions to recruit participating companies.

For the project supporting alternative naphtha imports, public notice will be given immediately after passage by the National Assembly to minimize industrial damage and stabilize supply chains. A fast-track system will be introduced for the export voucher program, enabling the selection and support of beneficiaries within three days of application.

The meeting also reviewed the status of this year's budget execution. As of the first quarter of this year, rapid execution in the public sector (fiscal, public institutions, and private investment) reached 206.1 trillion won (31.3%, provisional), while key managed projects accounted for 12.9 trillion won (37.6%).

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