Minister Park Hongkeun: "Enhancing Autonomy in Budget Formulation, Establishing a Culture of Accountability"

Hongkeun Park, Minister of Planning and Budget, stated, "We will increase autonomy in budget formulation while disclosing the process transparently and establishing a culture of taking full responsibility for the results."

Hongkeun Park, Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks while presiding over the "Government Budget with the People" town hall meeting held on the afternoon of the 28th at Community House Masil in Jung-gu, Seoul. Ministry of Strategy and Finance

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The Planning and Budget Office held a town hall meeting titled "Building the Nation's Finances with the People" on the afternoon of the 28th at Community House Masil in Myeong-dong, Seoul, with approximately 120 participants including citizens, private sector experts, officials from government ministries, and local governments. The participants were evenly composed of people from various age groups, genders, and regions.

This event marked the government's first initiative to directly listen to the voices of the general public regarding overall fiscal management. The Planning and Budget Office led a thematic presentation, followed by an "informal discussion" format in which all participants engaged in free speech and Q&A sessions.

In his opening remarks, Minister Park presented "fiscal management in which the people are the owners, national finances proven by outcomes, and trusted and responsible fiscal governance" as the three core promises for future fiscal operations. He also emphasized the need to lay the foundation for robust national finances that pass on hope to future generations by ensuring that public funds are used properly and for their intended purposes.

During the open discussion, in which all participants took part, a variety of opinions, suggestions, and questions were raised on topics such as fiscal sustainability for future generations, the long-term vision and role of public finances, promoting public participation and communication, and the operation of performance evaluation systems that allow the public to assess tangible outcomes.

In particular, many citizen participants voiced the need to strengthen support for young people and called for budget formulation that enhances the efficiency of fiscal expenditures. Concerns were also expressed about inflation and the increased burden on future generations resulting from supplementary budgets.

Hongkeun Park, Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, is presiding over the "Nation’s Finances with the People" town hall meeting held on the afternoon of the 28th at the Community House Masil in Jung-gu, Seoul, engaging in discussions with the public. Ministry of Strategy and Finance

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Minister Park expressed deep agreement with the participants' perceptions and suggestions. In particular, addressing concerns over national debt, he responded, "The active role of fiscal policy is important to secure livelihoods and create growth momentum, and we will remain vigilant in ensuring fiscal sustainability by restructuring unnecessary budget items and other measures."

In his closing remarks, Minister Park said, "The core of the 'people-sovereign fiscal policy' emphasized by the President is to ensure that citizens truly feel they are the owners of the budget," adding, "The valuable candid feedback and ideas shared today will be actively reflected in future budget formulation and policy development."

The Planning and Budget Office plans to use this event as a starting point to continue engaging with the public on topics such as mid- to long-term national development strategies and fiscal expenditure efficiency, thereby further expanding opportunities for meaningful public participation in the fiscal policy process.

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