Ahn Dogeol: "Quadruple Economic Downturn... Supplementary Budget Needed"

"An Urgent Injection Needed to Overcome Economic Downturn"

Ando Geol, Member of the National Assembly.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Dogeol (Gwangju Dongnam-eul) stated on the 5th, "Supplementary budget formulation is not a choice but an essential measure, and it is an urgent injection to overcome the current economic downturn," adding, "The government must not delay the formulation of a supplementary budget."

In a press release on this day, Ahn said, "According to the January Industrial Activity Trends released by Statistics Korea on the 4th, all major indicators of the domestic economy?production (-2.7%), consumption (-0.6%), and investment (-14.2%)?plummeted, resulting in a 'triple decline.' On top of that, exports in January also decreased by 10.3%, pushing our economy into a 'quadruple plunge.' With both engines of economic growth?domestic demand and exports?rapidly losing power at the same time, our economy is repeatedly veering off its normal course and entering a steep descent."

He continued, "This economic downturn is not a short-term phenomenon, but a persistent trend that has become entrenched since the inauguration of the Yoon Sukyeol administration," and argued, "The macroeconomic emergency measures are interest rate cuts and the formulation of a supplementary budget to stimulate the economy."

He also emphasized, "Amid accelerating global technological hegemony competition and supply chain restructuring, the Trump administration's tariffs are threatening the competitiveness of our core industries and export companies," adding, "In particular, budget support for the rapid supply of high-performance computing such as GPUs is urgently needed so that we do not fall behind in the race to secure leadership in AI technology and industry."

He stated, "To support the construction industry, which is facing a severe crisis in terms of production and employment, it is also necessary to expand essential SOC budgets," and reiterated, "A comprehensive prescription that includes such multifaceted economic stimulus measures is precisely what the supplementary budget is."

Ahn said, "Recently, the governor of the Bank of Korea directly mentioned the supplementary budget, and the opposition party has even proposed its size and projects," and pointed out, "Nevertheless, the government is delaying the formulation of the supplementary budget. This is an abandonment of the government's responsibility to ensure macroeconomic stability and an act of relinquishing its own budgetary authority."