[Full Text] President Moon's 2022 Budget Address

Dear fellow citizens,

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seug and members of the National Assembly,

With six months left in my term, I am deeply moved to deliver my final policy speech.

Throughout my term, the nation faced continuous crises.

From the early days of the government, we had to overcome a critical war threat.

We had to respond to rapidly changing international trade orders such as Japan's unilateral export restrictions, protectionism, and the reorganization of global supply chains.

Since last year, we have concentrated all our efforts on protecting the lives, safety, economy, and livelihoods of our people against the global COVID-19 pandemic.

It is not over yet.

We will devote ourselves to overcoming the crisis until the very end and do our best to achieve complete restoration of daily life and economic recovery.

At the same time,

we are facing an era of great transformation where human civilization is fundamentally changing.

The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated digital transformation,

the climate crisis threatens human survival,

and carbon neutrality has become a global challenge.

[Full Text] President Moon's 2022 Budget Address

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This is a significant challenge that determines the fate of our nation.

The government will boldly navigate this era of great transformation

and fulfill its responsibility and role in opening a new future.

I believe in the great potential of our people.

Winston Churchill said,

"An optimist sees opportunity in every crisis,

a pessimist sees crisis in every opportunity."

Our people have always overcome crises

with optimism and positivity, showing the true strength of a crisis-resilient Korea.

With 'bold thinking that changes the game,'

we turned crises into opportunities and achieved greater leaps forward.

The North Korean nuclear crisis became a turning point for peace.

We opened the door to peace by leading three inter-Korean summits

and the historic first North Korea-U.S. summit.

Dialogue is still incomplete.

Through dialogue and diplomacy,

we will continue to strive until a new order for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula is established.

Japan's export restrictions

were transformed into an opportunity for our materials, parts, and equipment industry to become self-reliant.

Supported by the people,

the government and companies, large and small, joined hands to respond.

As a result, we reduced dependence on Japan for 100 key items,

stabilized supply chains by diversifying import sources,

and are moving beyond Japan to the world,

on the path to becoming a strong nation in materials, parts, and equipment.

During the global COVID-19 crisis, K-quarantine became an international standard,

raising Korea's international standing as a model country for quarantine.

This achievement was made possible by advanced quarantine strategies and medical systems,

the dedication of medical staff, and a mature sense of community.

As the world faced the crisis together,

we rediscovered our capabilities.

Although vaccine rollout started late,

with active participation from the people,

we surpassed countries that started earlier.

We have achieved a world-class vaccination rate, with over 80% first-dose coverage and 70% fully vaccinated relative to the total population.

Based on stable quarantine and high vaccination rates,

we are now beginning phased restoration of daily life.

This will be fully implemented starting in November.

Ordinary daily life will be restored,

and the vitality of people's lives, which had been subdued, will return.

Especially, small business owners and self-employed people who suffered greatly from quarantine measures

will gradually revive their businesses,

and school attendance will normalize.

Welfare facilities will also operate normally,

and care issues for low-income vulnerable groups will be resolved.

We will do our best to move toward a community of healing, recovery, and inclusion.

Phased restoration of daily life

is based on coexistence with COVID-19,

managing quarantine situations steadily

while moving toward recovery of daily life.

Basic quarantine guidelines such as wearing masks will be maintained,

and we will transition to a sustainable quarantine and medical response system.

We are now on the threshold of hope.

The government, together with the people,

will create a successful model for daily life restoration and complete K-quarantine.

One of the biggest concerns during the COVID-19 crisis was the economy.

The government poured all its efforts into overcoming the economic crisis.

We swiftly transitioned to an emergency economic system and responded boldly.

In cooperation with the National Assembly, we prepared six supplementary budgets,

and through unprecedented expansionary fiscal policy,

we played a supporting role in protecting people's lives and livelihoods,

leading to a rapid and strong economic recovery.

As a result, among major advanced countries,

we recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels the fastest,

and the average growth rate over the past two years is expected to be the highest.

Exports have set record highs every month this year,

and trade is expected to reach 1 trillion dollars within this month.

This is the best performance ever.

Consumption and investment are regaining momentum,

and even in employment, which was the slowest to recover,

last month, it recovered to 99.8% of pre-crisis levels.

Despite global economic uncertainties recently,

our economy is being managed stably.

Our national credit rating remains at the highest level,

and foreign exchange bonds are being issued at historically low spreads,

demonstrating strong external credibility.

Dear citizens, members of the National Assembly,

during the economic crisis, the government prioritized protecting people's lives above all.

Along with broad and substantial support to affected industries and groups through active fiscal spending,

we devoted ourselves to building social safety nets and employment safety nets for vulnerable groups.

Especially, we focused support on small business owners and self-employed people who suffered greatly from the prolonged COVID-19 crisis.

We provided damage compensation payments totaling about 18.3 trillion won in four rounds,

and added various support measures such as financial and tax assistance

to alleviate their difficulties.

Starting the day after tomorrow, under the Loss Compensation Act,

we will begin compensating economic losses caused by business restrictions.

This is the world's first compensation through legislation,

marking a significant institutional advancement.

We hope it will provide some encouragement and help.

We also agree that society must share the difficulties of affected industries excluded from the Loss Compensation Act's support scope.

If the National Assembly gathers wisdom during budget deliberations,

the government will do its best to support accordingly.

Protecting jobs during the crisis was the most important task.

We expanded employment retention subsidies to support companies' efforts to maintain employment,

and provided four rounds of emergency employment stabilization subsidies to vulnerable groups such as special employment workers and freelancers.

Public jobs were also greatly expanded.

Efforts to expand the employment safety net continued.

We prepared a roadmap for nationwide employment insurance to increase coverage,

and newly extended employment insurance benefits to artists and special employment workers.

We fully implemented the National Employment Support System to assist vulnerable groups in finding jobs and stabilizing livelihoods.

I believe the government's consistent inclusive policies played a major role in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis.

They greatly contributed to protecting vulnerable groups and reducing disparities.

Our government has continuously increased budgets in welfare and labor sectors,

from 130 trillion won at the start of the term to about 217 trillion won next year.

We especially focused on expanding welfare for vulnerable groups.

We gradually relaxed the support obligation criteria for livelihood benefits,

and completely abolished them starting this month.

This is the first time in 60 years since the system was introduced.

We raised the basic pension and disability pension to 300,000 won per month early,

and significantly expanded earned income tax credits and child tax credits for low-income workers.

We introduced independence allowances for children aging out of care,

and expanded support for single-parent families.

We introduced a public payment system for farmers and fishermen.

Meanwhile, we introduced universal child allowances for the first time,

expanded the eligible age,

and by implementing free high school education for all grades this year,

opened the era of free education for elementary, middle, and high school.

We steadily promoted reduced working hours and minimum wage increases.

As a result, annual working hours dropped significantly from 2,052 hours in 2016 to 1,952 hours last year,

and the proportion of low-wage workers decreased sharply from 23.5% to 16% over five years.

Especially, we significantly reduced the medical expenses burden on the people.

By strengthening health insurance coverage,

we resolved the three major non-covered issues: selective treatment fees, upper-level hospital room fees, and nursing fees,

and greatly reduced out-of-pocket expenses.

We implemented the national responsibility system for dementia,

greatly alleviating medical expenses and family caregiving burdens.

Complete economic recovery will be achieved through inclusive recovery.

Many people have yet to feel the warmth of economic recovery.

The government will continue to strive for inclusive recovery that leaves no one behind.

Dear citizens, members of the National Assembly,

our economy has not stopped innovating even amid crises.

On the contrary, we turned crises into opportunities for innovation,

accelerating the transition to a leading economy.

As a measure, we strongly promoted the 'Korean New Deal.'

Following the Digital New Deal and Green New Deal,

we expanded to Regional Balanced New Deal and Human New Deal,

and increased investment from 160 trillion won to 220 trillion won over five years.

The Korean New Deal, which we started first,

has attracted global attention,

and is becoming a path the world follows.

Our world-class innovation capabilities

have become a powerful driving force toward a leading economy.

Based on strong digital capabilities and excellent technology,

information and communication technology main products lead exports,

driving economic recovery and leapfrogging forward.

Exports from small and medium enterprises are also growing at double-digit rates,

which is even more positive.

New industries are becoming the center of economic rebound and leap forward.

Semiconductors

are not only the world's number one in memory semiconductors,

but system semiconductors are also growing significantly,

powerfully advancing toward becoming a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse.

Future vehicles such as electric and hydrogen cars are leading the global market.

The heart of future vehicles, batteries,

hold the world's number one position outside China with a differentiated strategy based on technological superiority.

The bio-health sector has entered the top 10 export items,

becoming the next growth engine,

and is accelerating the establishment of a global vaccine hub and domestic vaccine development.

Existing key industries that were in crisis

have made a strong comeback with the government's strong support and innovation.

The shipbuilding industry has completely revived, continuing its world number one order streak,

dominating the global high value-added and eco-friendly ship markets,

showing the power of K-shipbuilding.

The shipping industry has miraculously revived three years after the government initiated its reconstruction.

Advanced industrial competitiveness is also growing rapidly.

We became the tenth country in the world

to join the lunar exploration project 'Artemis Accords,'

and succeeded in launching the space launch vehicle 'Nuri' developed with indigenous technology,

becoming the seventh country capable of sending objects over one ton into space with its own launch vehicle.

Once we take the final step to accurately insert satellites into target orbits,

we will be able to launch our satellites from our land with our own launch vehicles,

and through technology transfer,

we will elevate the private space industry to the next level.

Innovative ventures and startups are becoming the main players of the leading economy.

The second venture boom is spreading, dynamically transforming our economy.

The number of unicorn companies increased from three at the start of our government to fifteen,

and venture investment already surpassed a record high in August,

expected to exceed 6 trillion won by the end of the year.

The cultural content industry has emerged as our new growth engine.

K-pop, dramas, movies, games, webtoons, and other Korean culture

captivate the world,

surpassing 10 billion dollars in exports for the first time last year,

with a continuously expanding surplus.

Related industries such as K-food and K-beauty have ripple effects,

with agricultural products and cosmetics exports also setting all-time records.

However, our economy is not all rosy.

We face bigger challenges on a different level than before.

The global supply chain reorganization is in full swing,

expanding into a technology war to dominate advanced technologies.

Also, as we move toward the carbon-neutral era,

the global economic order and industrial map are fundamentally changing.

Turning these significant challenges into new opportunities is a national task.

We must seize supply chain reorganization as an opportunity to expand market access for our companies,

and turn carbon neutrality into an opportunity for new growth engines and job creation.

Especially, we will nurture the hydrogen economy, a core industry of the carbon-neutral era,

as a national future strategic industry,

realizing the dream of becoming a hydrogen-leading country and energy powerhouse.

The government will strongly support major industries such as K-semiconductors, K-batteries, K-bio, K-hydrogen, and K-shipbuilding with industry-specific support strategies.

Companies are also making large-scale investments and building industry-specific 'K-alliances,'

cooperating more strongly than ever.

By pooling national capabilities like this,

we will overcome new challenges and lead the global market.

Dear citizens, members of the National Assembly,

Korea is no longer the Korea of the past.

We have become a global model in quarantine and economic recovery,

and have grown into the world's 10th largest economy and 6th largest trading power.

Per capita income has surpassed the G7 for the first time.

Our military power has strengthened, ranking 6th in comprehensive military strength.

Diplomatic horizons have greatly expanded with policies such as New Southern and New Northern policies,

and our international standing has risen, being invited to the G7 summit for two consecutive years.

Korean culture captivates the world,

and the status of cultural powerhouse Korea is something to be proud of.

Korea is advancing as a soft power powerhouse leading the world not only in economic and military power,

but also in democracy, healthcare, culture, and diplomacy.

As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development unanimously decided,

our country has become a recognized advanced country in the world.

This is a remarkable national achievement created by our people.

It is even more remarkable because it was achieved amid crises.

Our people have shown amazing capabilities in every crisis.

They saved the country from crises and made Korea stronger.

Even during the COVID-19 crisis, our people united and cooperated.

They demonstrated mature civic consciousness as the main actors in quarantine,

and all economic actors became protagonists of economic recovery and leap forward.

I extend my infinite respect and gratitude to the great people.

Being an advanced country is a great pride for us.

But our responsibilities to the international community have also increased.

The core global challenge we must jointly address now is the climate crisis.

Our government has joined the '2050 Carbon Neutrality' initiative.

We have also joined the effort to raise the 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target,

from the existing 26.3% to 40% compared to 2018 levels.

Compared to climate-advanced countries that reached peak emissions earlier,

our country, which reached peak emissions in 2018, faces a very challenging goal to reduce emissions rapidly in a short period.

The government has

joined the 'Global Methane Pledge' to reduce global methane emissions by over 30% by 2030,

and will participate in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is no easy challenge.

We must fundamentally innovate industrial structures

and drastically transform energy structures.

We understand the industry's concerns that this is a difficult goal to bear alone.

However, we will not leave companies to shoulder the burden alone.

The government will spare no policy and financial support.

Companies are also boldly stepping forward for survival and future competitiveness.

It is time for the people to act as well.

A national movement for carbon neutrality is needed.

When small daily actions accumulate, we can move toward a carbon-neutral society.

Habituate saving and recycling,

use public transportation, reduce disposable products and plastics,

plant trees, use renewable energy,

anyone can be a protagonist of carbon neutrality.

Let's start now, before it's too late.

The government will support and join the people's actions and practices.

Korea will also fulfill its responsibilities in other global issues.

We will strengthen global vaccine cooperation

and reliably support 200 million dollars to COVAX for vaccine supply to developing countries.

We have also started cooperation to provide surplus vaccines to countries lacking vaccines.

Contributing to the international community according to our capacity,

we will enhance our ability to respond to global issues.

We will take the lead in realizing universal human values such as democracy, human rights, and peace.

We must continue to address our shortcomings.

Behind our rapid growth, there are many shadows.

We have the world's most severe low birthrate,

and shameful statistics such as elderly poverty rate, suicide rate, and industrial accident death rate.

Real estate issues remain the top livelihood problem and a reform task.

The concentration in the metropolitan area, becoming a stronger black hole, and regional imbalance remain unresolved challenges.

Unfairness, discrimination, and exclusion are obstacles to social integration.

These are national tasks that must be solved for future generations to have hope.

The government will devote itself to advancing unresolved tasks until the end,

and ensure efforts continue into the next government.

We ask the National Assembly to gather wisdom together.

Dear citizens, members of the National Assembly,

the government has prepared an expanded budget of 604.4 trillion won for next year

for 'complete recovery and the nation's future.'

Considering this year's main budget and supplementary budgets, we maintained an expansionary stance.

During the COVID-19 crisis,

expansionary fiscal policy led economic and employment recovery,

and increased tax revenues, contributing to fiscal soundness,

showing a virtuous cycle effect.

There is still a long way to go for complete recovery.

We must not miss the right time to transition to a leading economy.

Fiscal roles will inevitably remain significant next year.

On the other hand, fiscal soundness and sustainability

cannot be overlooked.

The government has utilized fiscal capacity to overcome crises so far,

but has also carefully balanced fiscal soundness,

and this spirit is reflected in next year's budget proposal.

This year's tax revenue is expected to expand more than initially projected when the budget was submitted to the National Assembly.

While the tax revenue forecast error may be criticized,

it reflects a stronger-than-expected economic recovery,

which is good for the overall national economy.

The government expects to use the additional secured tax revenue

to further alleviate people's difficulties

and partly to repay national debt,

contributing to improving fiscal soundness.

Next year's budget

is aimed at fully restoring daily life and livelihoods from the COVID-19 crisis.

It is an investment for the nation's future, including carbon neutrality, the Korean New Deal, and strategic technology development.

It also reflects strong will for robust security, public safety, and solving low birthrate issues.

First, we will prioritize protecting people's health and lives from COVID-19

and providing substantial protection to affected groups.

We plan to newly purchase 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines,

securing a total of 170 million doses.

To restore daily life, we will secure sufficient hospital beds and expand regional infectious disease specialized hospitals.

Especially, the budget includes funds to provide substantial compensation to small business owners and self-employed people under the Loss Compensation Act.

For those outside the scope of institutional support,

we will expand emergency funds, resolve financial cliffs, and expand support for small business owners' recovery and re-startup.

Second, we will achieve inclusive recovery that reduces COVID-19 disparities and inequalities so everyone can feel the warmth of recovery.

Next year, the median income standard will be raised to an all-time high,

significantly increasing the guarantee level of seven major benefits.

With the complete abolition of the support obligation criteria for livelihood benefits,

about 53,000 additional households will benefit.

We will conduct a pilot project for Korean-style sickness benefits targeting 2.63 million people,

taking the first step toward a country where people can rest when sick.

Also, platform workers such as substitute drivers and quick service workers

will newly receive employment insurance benefits.

For national veterans, basic compensation will be increased,

and livelihood support payments will be newly provided.

We have strengthened support for young people facing difficulties due to COVID-19.

We will provide comprehensive support in jobs, asset formation, housing, and education.

We expanded the budget for youth job support,

and introduced youth savings accounts and youth hope savings to help youth asset formation.

To reduce housing burdens,

we will newly introduce a monthly rent support program for low-income youth,

and greatly expand national scholarships for universities,

realizing half-price tuition for the middle class both overall and individually.

We also focused on reducing regional disparities.

With the second phase of fiscal decentralization, local government revenues will be greatly increased.

Twenty-three national balanced development projects will be fully launched,

and the three-year plan for living SOC will be completed.

We will support the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam super metropolitan cooperation to become a successful model,

spread it to other regions,

and make it a key to opening a new era of national balanced development.

Third, we will boldly invest in transitioning to a future-oriented economic structure.

2022 will be the first year of carbon neutrality implementation,

with about 12 trillion won of fiscal spending.

We will more than double the supply of eco-friendly vehicles compared to this year,

achieving a cumulative supply target of 500,000 vehicles.

We will further expand renewable energy supply and greatly increase urban forests.

We will establish a 2.5 trillion won climate response fund

and pilot a greenhouse gas reduction recognition budget system.

We allocated 33.7 trillion won to vigorously promote the evolved 'Korean New Deal 2.0.'

The R&D budget will be about 30 trillion won,

more than 50% higher than at the start of the government.

We will become a research and development powerhouse with the world's number one R&D investment relative to GDP.

Finally, we focused on investments to protect public safety and improve quality of life.

The government expanded the defense budget to 55.2 trillion won.

Our government will record an average annual defense budget growth rate of 6.5%.

We will strengthen soldier welfare by significantly raising pay and meal costs,

and focus investment on acquiring advanced capabilities and technology development.

In addition to strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and regional cooperation,

we will enhance multilateral diplomacy and middle power diplomacy,

and greatly increase ODA budgets focusing on green, digital, and health sectors.

We will boldly invest over 20 trillion won in three major disaster safety areas: natural disaster prevention, public life protection, and living environment improvement.

We will expand child allowance support to children under eight years old,

and introduce infant allowances and first meeting vouchers for the first time.

We will further expand public daycare centers to increase public childcare utilization,

creating a more family- and childcare-friendly social infrastructure.

Next year's budget is our government's last budget

and also the first budget for the next government.

I ask for bipartisan discussion and cooperation beyond party lines.

Dear fellow citizens,

Speaker of the National Assembly and members of the National Assembly,

The National Assembly has greatly supported our government in overcoming crises.

You have smoothly processed the budget every year,

and swiftly passed six supplementary budgets.