[14 Trillion Snowflake Supplementary Budget] Hong Nam-ki "Scale Considering Main Budget and Inflation Impact... Requesting National Assembly's Respect"

Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki's Briefing on the Supplementary Budget Draft Compilation on the 21st

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, requested the National Assembly to respect the government's original plan for the supplementary budget (추경) worth 14 trillion won. This appears to be an official stance in response to recent bipartisan pressure from both ruling and opposition parties to increase the supplementary budget.

On the 21st, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a briefing on the supplementary budget formulation held at the Government Seoul Office, "Please respect as much as possible the scale and contents of the supplementary budget submitted by the government to the National Assembly."

Earlier, he explained the background of the formulation, saying, "In deciding the scale and contents, we comprehensively considered the additional support needs for small business owners, the expected excess tax revenue, the execution of this year's main budget of about 608 trillion won, the conditions requiring deficit bonds to be raised for the January early supplementary budget, and the ripple effects on prices and the government bond market due to the supplementary budget."

He also described the supplementary budget announced that day as a "quarantine supplementary budget based on excess tax revenue," stating, "The support amount for self-employed small business owners, about 12 trillion won, is comparable to the national subsidy provided during the nationwide disaster relief fund payment two years ago," and emphasized, "Considering this is an urgent and critical one-point supplementary budget, please finalize it through the National Assembly's review process as soon as possible."

He added, "The government will make every effort to prepare so that the supplementary budget projects can be executed immediately once confirmed during the remaining period, including the Lunar New Year holiday."