President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged officials to accelerate work on a supplementary budget, as the government moves to limit economic fallout from the ongoing Middle East conflict.
“In times of crisis, swift fiscal spending is essential to ensure that efforts to stabilize people’s livelihoods and support the economic recovery do not lose momentum,” Lee said during a meeting of senior secretaries and aides at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. “In the end, there is no way around compiling a supplementary budget, so please move as quickly as possible to prepare it.”
Lee also pressed his chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-beom, to speed up the process.
“Once the decision is made to draw up a supplementary budget, the usual practice seems to be that even when officials say they are moving quickly, it still takes a month or two,” Lee said in his opening remarks, which were broadcast live. “Even if it is difficult, I ask that you work through the night if necessary.”
Lee had already effectively signaled a push for a supplementary budget during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, saying that “additional fiscal resources may be needed” to support measures such as fuel tax relief and aid for small business owners amid the Middle East crisis.
Lee noted that rising oil prices and disruptions in the supply of key raw materials at home are raising concerns across households and the broader economy. He warned that if the situation persists, weakening consumer and investment sentiment could undermine the fragile recovery and hit vulnerable groups the hardest.
“Now is not the time to debate this or that. We must not waste the golden time to cushion the shock to people’s livelihoods and the economy,” Lee said. “We must mobilize every policy tool available and focus our capacity on executing them swiftly and with precision.”
As part of those efforts, Lee said the government should move quickly on measures such as freezing public utility fees during the first half of the year, expanding discount programs for agricultural and fishery products, extending fuel tax cuts and accelerating fuel subsidy support for truck drivers, public transport operators and farmers.
The president also stressed the need for more targeted fiscal support.
“If we clearly identify target groups and provide differentiated support to improve the efficiency of fiscal spending, such direct and tailored assistance can be a very effective way of deploying public funds,” Lee said.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
