Yoon: "Strong Fiscal Reform to Ensure Not a Single Won of Taxes Is Wasted" (Update)

Next Year's Budget Report... "Sufficient Financial Expenditure to Strengthen Welfare for the Vulnerable"
On the Publication of the North Korean Human Rights Report, "The Reality of Human Rights Violations Must Be Fully Exposed"

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 28th, "We will pursue strong fiscal innovation to maintain a sound fiscal stance." This referred to the government's fiscal management policy according to the budget formulation guidelines for next year, also indicating a direction to prevent fiscal leakage and streamline the welfare system.

At the Cabinet meeting he presided over at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning, President Yoon said, "Next year's budget will boldly invest in what the government must do while ensuring that not a single won of tax money is wasted."

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared the opening of the Cabinet meeting held on the 28th at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

President Yoon summarized the budget formulation guidelines for next year, which will serve as the foundation for the three major reforms in labor, education, and pensions, as "strong fiscal innovation." While maintaining a sound fiscal stance, President Yoon explained that the government intends to properly perform the essential functions of the state such as national defense and the rule of law, adding, "We will make sufficient fiscal expenditures to enhance the foundation for future growth and employment creation capabilities, as well as to strengthen welfare for the vulnerable." He also emphasized, "We must thoroughly block unjust fiscal leakage factors such as subsidies paid to organizations with opaque accounting and fund execution, populist cash handouts, and subsidies with unclear usage, and streamline the welfare delivery system."

He also brought up a rare message regarding North Korea at the Cabinet meeting. President Yoon stated, "It has been seven years since the North Korean Human Rights Act was enacted, but the North Korean Human Rights Foundation has yet to be launched, and only now is the North Korean Human Rights Report being published and distributed," adding, "The North Korean Human Rights Act must now be effectively implemented." He instructed government ministries to widely publicize and educate the public domestically and internationally about the realities of North Korean human rights through the publication of this report. President Yoon explained, "The horrific human rights violations of North Korean residents must be fully exposed to the international community," and expressed hope that "the realities of North Korean human rights will be widely disclosed to the international community through the Democracy Summit starting tomorrow and the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council."

The importance of policy promotion, which President Yoon has mentioned several times recently, was reiterated that day. President Yoon said, "Through party-government consultations, public opinion must be sufficiently reflected from the policy formulation stage," urging cooperation throughout the entire policy process including policy discovery, public opinion gathering, and legislation. The day before, at the Senior Secretary Meeting, President Yoon also instructed the Cabinet, "Even policies that do not involve bills or budgets must be closely coordinated between the party and government."

Additionally, there was a directive regarding the on-site inspection by the International Bureau of Expositions delegation in Busan. President Yoon said, "The government has adopted the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo as a national agenda and has been conducting comprehensive bid activities together with the private sector," and conveyed, "I repeatedly urge all Cabinet members to do their best with the attitude of 'Expo salesmen.'"