Choi Sang-mok "Supplementary Budget of 10 Trillion Won to be Announced Early Next Week... Up to 4 Trillion Won Support for Trade and AI"

Up to 4 Trillion Won to Be Invested in Support for Low-Income Earners and Small Business Owners

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok is attending and speaking at the Economic Relations Ministers' Meeting held on the 8th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss the sectoral impact of U.S. tariff impositions. 2025.4.8 Photo by Jo Yong-jun

The government will announce a supplementary budget plan worth 10 trillion won early next week, allocating 3 to 4 trillion won each for trade response, strengthening artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness, and supporting low-income earners and small business owners.

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated in his opening remarks at the Economic Ministers' Meeting on the 8th, "Due to the unexpected announcement of reciprocal tariffs by the United States, serious damage to our industries and companies is anticipated," adding, "We will announce a supplementary budget plan worth 10 trillion won early next week after consultations with related ministries this week."

This means the government will soon reveal the detailed contents of the 10 trillion won supplementary budget, which was previously proposed focusing on essential projects such as disaster response, trade and AI competitiveness enhancement, and livelihood support, areas with no opposition from either ruling or opposition parties.

Regarding the general direction of the supplementary budget, Deputy Prime Minister Choi emphasized, "We will focus on the rapid recovery from wildfire damage and prevention of recurrence," and added, "We will secure sufficient funds to promptly commence restoration work as soon as the wildfire damage recovery plan is finalized." He also stated, "We will support the advancement of wildfire prevention and suppression systems, including expanding wildfire monitoring drones and acquiring additional high-performance helicopters."

He further said, "We will allocate about 3 to 4 trillion won to respond to the rapid changes in the trade environment and to enhance AI competitiveness," adding, "We will significantly expand tariff responses and export vouchers for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by tariffs, and additionally provide policy financing such as emergency management stabilization funds."

To stabilize the supply chain of key items, the government plans to establish investment subsidies for advanced industry materials, parts, and equipment, and expand investment subsidies for returning and foreign-invested companies.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi elaborated, "To innovate the domestic AI ecosystem, we will secure more than 10,000 high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) within this year and actively support the acquisition of top-tier talents, including world-class scholars in the AI field."

About 3 to 4 trillion won will also be invested to support low-income earners and small business owners struggling due to sluggish domestic demand. Deputy Prime Minister Choi said, "To alleviate the management burden of small business owners, we will expand low-interest policy funds and strive to discover projects that enhance the consumption capacity of low-income and vulnerable groups to the fullest extent."