"Now is the time to use national finances"... Fast-track for ₩30.5 trillion supplementary budget

President Lee presides over Cabinet meeting and approves supplementary budget

'All-in' to stimulate domestic demand

₩150,000–₩500,000 distributed to all citizens

1.43 million people's debts forgiven

Lee: "Shrinking consumption makes self-employed struggle"

To be submitted to the National Assembly on the 23rd

The Lee Jae-myung administration has proposed a massive supplementary budget of ₩30.5 trillion just two weeks after its launch. Excluding revised tax revenues (₩10.3 trillion), funds injected directly into the economy amount to ₩20.2 trillion. The plan is to revive the depressed domestic market by distributing consumption coupons to the entire population and relieving the debt of 1.43 million small business owners.

On the 19th, President Lee Jae-myung presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office and approved this supplementary budget. This is the second supplementary budget this year and the first by the Lee Jae-myung administration. In his opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting, President Lee said, "Since December 3 of last year, psychological contraction has become severe and customers have vanished, making the field (such as self-employment) difficult," and added, "Now is the time to use national finances." This fast-tracked supplementary budget focuses on reviving the economy and stabilizing people's livelihoods. The previous first supplementary budget of ₩13.8 trillion targeted wildfire damage restoration and essential support.

More than half of the directly injected funds, ₩13.2 trillion, will be used to distribute consumption coupons to all citizens, aiming to stimulate the economy across the country. Each person will receive ₩150,000 to ₩500,000 in the form of local gift certificates, prepaid cards, or credit/debit cards rather than cash. ₩2.7 trillion will be allocated to boost the construction industry, a key cause of sluggish domestic demand. The government will buy back 10,000 units of unsold housing under a repurchase agreement and accelerate investments in social overhead capital (SOC) such as railways and ports.

A 'Special Debt Adjustment Package' is also included to help the self-employed and small business owners recover. ₩400 billion will be spent on buying and extinguishing government-purchased unsecured personal loans of up to ₩50 million that have been delinquent for more than seven years. An additional ₩1.2 trillion will go towards supporting ventures and SMEs, proliferating artificial intelligence (AI), and expanding renewable energy infrastructure. Lim Ki-geun, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said, "We hope this supplementary budget will serve as priming water to revitalize the languished economy and become a valuable spark for citizens to make a fresh start." The supplementary budget is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly on the 23rd.

To finance this supplementary budget, the government will issue an additional ₩19.8 trillion in government bonds. As a result, national debt will exceed ₩1,300 trillion for the first time. The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to ease the 'fiscal rule' that limits the managed fiscal deficit to within 3% of GDP.

Nam Jung-min/Kim Hyung-kyu, reporters peux@hankyung.com