Expanding Scale to Reduce Blind Spots
Concerns Over National Fiscal Soundness
Criticism of Financial Input in Similar Projects
On the 16th, when in-person applications for the Small Business Support Fund for digitally vulnerable groups began, small business owners were receiving consultations related to the Support Fund at the Small Enterprise and Market Service Seoul Jungbu Center. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that small business owners who are eligible for the Support Fund but cannot verify their identity online or wish to receive the support fund through a proxy can make a reservation and visit the on-site application center to apply in person from today until the 26th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government decided to allocate 4.5 trillion won out of the 19.5 trillion won 4th disaster relief fund from the existing budget. Of this existing budget, 555 billion won, which corresponds to 12%, will be used as additional support funds for the Buteemok Fund.
What stands out in the '2021 Supplementary Budget Bill (2nd Customized Damage Support Measures)' announced by the government on the 2nd is the plan to increase the amount of support by mobilizing the existing budget to reduce blind spots in the Buteemok Fund support. Specifically, the number of recipients of the Buteemok Fund support, which is being paid in the first quarter, will increase by 330,000 from 2.8 million to 3.13 million. Accordingly, an additional 555 billion won will be provided as a contingency fund.
Among the existing budget allocated for the 4th disaster relief fund, 2.5 trillion won will be used to support small business owners and SMEs, of which 555 billion won will be invested in the small business owners' Buteemok Fund. As a result, 6.9 trillion won, which accounts for 47% of the 15 trillion won supplementary budget, will be invested not only in the small business owners' Buteemok Fund Plus (+) and electricity bill reductions but also in related projects using the existing budget.
Concerns are growing about the additional funds being投入 into similar projects amid already raised concerns about fiscal soundness. Regarding this, a government official said, "In managing finances going forward, it is necessary to actively support essential elements such as early recovery of people's livelihoods and the economy to expand growth potential and help build a sustainable fiscal foundation." He added, "At the same time, efforts to improve spending efficiency, such as strong expenditure restructuring, need to be carried out in parallel."
Meanwhile, the government decided to allocate 1.8 trillion won of the existing budget to employment support and 200 billion won to support vulnerable groups, respectively.
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