Ando-geol Vice Minister: "Supplementary Budget to Be Executed Over 80% by May"

April 29 '4th Fiscal Management Review Meeting' Held
"Active Fiscal Operation... Fulfilling Fiscal Role"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Ando-geol, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated on the 29th regarding the execution of the supplementary budget that "Currently, applications from about 225,000 people are being reviewed for eligibility, and we will do our best to execute more than 80% by May."

Vice Minister Ando held the '4th Fiscal Management Inspection Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office in the afternoon and made these remarks. The meeting was attended by key officials from related ministries including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Ministry of Education.

He said, "The first supplementary budget confirmed at the end of March is being executed without any issues in all three major areas: emergency damage support, employment measures, and quarantine measures," adding, "Cash support projects such as the Small Business Owner Support Fund Plus have paid 4.8 trillion won to 3.37 million people," which accounts for 65.8% of the total.

He also stated that the early execution policy in the first half of the year will be maintained to ensure the continuation of the economic recovery trend. Vice Minister Ando explained, "We will continuously manage projects related to job creation, social overhead capital (SOC), and living SOC, which have a significant effect on revitalizing the local economy and are directly connected to people's livelihoods, to achieve the execution targets without fail."

Vice Minister Ando emphasized, "We will generate results through focused fiscal investment, including additional execution of more than 7 trillion won for the Korean New Deal within the first half of the year."

Finally, he said, "The government will continue to operate fiscal policy swiftly and proactively," adding, "We will monitor blind spots and expand the social safety net thoroughly to faithfully fulfill the role of fiscal policy."