"Replace the Economic Team and Curb Fiscal Spending"
"Supplementary Budget Formation Also Needed"
Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min diagnosed on the 27th that "next year's economy is expected to face a crisis comparable to the IMF economic crisis."
In an interview with MBC Radio on the same day, Yoo said, "Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, mentioned universal tariffs, and it seems like a trade war is starting. A severe typhoon is approaching," warning, "The economy has not been good for the past few years, and now the Trump shock may also come." He added, "There is a saying that things that fall have no wings, and when the economy collapses and falls, the outlook is also unclear," and said, "There is no need to exaggerate the economic crisis, but I consider it very serious."
Yoo, who holds a Ph.D. in economics, previously served as a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and as the head of the Yeouido Institute.
Regarding the economic situation, he argued that the government's overall policy direction must change. Yoo criticized the current administration's economic team, saying, "There is a tax revenue shortfall, the fiscal deficit is becoming serious, and national debt management is not being handled well compared to the Moon Jae-in administration," and questioned, "Has there been any economic policy for the past two and a half years?" In this context, Yoo said, "The economic team must be changed unconditionally, and the economic policy direction itself must be changed," adding, "We always worry about sound fiscal policy and national debt, but now people's livelihoods are too difficult, so fiscal spending must be increased. The tax-cut policies implemented so far must also be thoroughly reviewed."
Yoo also expressed the need to expand the role of fiscal policy. He said, "Next year, the government needs to consider increasing fiscal spending to help those in difficulty and to restore growth momentum."
Regarding the controversy over the suddenly discussed supplementary budget, he pointed out, "Isn't the first week of December a period when budget deliberations are very concentrated? The timing of bringing up the supplementary budget was very strange. The Yongsan (Presidential Office) made an impulsive statement, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance was busy managing the aftermath, so the timing of the supplementary budget discussion was very odd." However, he added, "If the 677 trillion won budget for next year had been fully deliberated and then, around the end of the year or early next year, it was announced that a supplementary budget would be made because the economy is very bad, I think the order would have been correct," and said, "This is a matter of timing, and the more important issue is that I believe the supplementary budget is necessary."
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