President Lee Again Mentions 'Supplementary Budget'... "Startup Support in the Latter Half Through Extra Budget"

Lee Chairs Startup Strategy Meeting on January 30
"Saying once a year with 100 billion won is too little"
Tells Finance Minister, "Don't drip-feed the budget"

President Lee Jae-myung is asking a question to Minister Sung-sook Han of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups at the National Startup Era Strategy Meeting "K-Startup Creates the Future" held at the Blue House on the 30th. Photo by Yonhap News

On January 30, President Lee Jaemyung stated, while receiving a report on startup support policies, "It would be possible to proceed even through a supplementary budget." The government is set to launch an audition project to support startups starting in March, and the president's remarks suggest expanding the number of rounds through a supplementary budget.

At the National Startup Era Strategy Meeting held at the Blue House that afternoon, President Lee received a briefing on the "Startup for All" project, led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and made these comments. The Startup for All project is a policy in which the government invests up to 100 billion won to support entrepreneurs from the initial stage to re-challenging. The project will be conducted in the form of an audition.

President Lee said, "Holding it just once a year with 100 billion won seems too little," and added, "Perhaps it's because there is no secured budget and it's unclear when the supplementary budget will be available, but we can split the budget and use a supplementary budget for the latter part of the year." President Lee believes that, with this approach, the project could be scaled up by holding the first round in March and the second round in May.

In response, Minister Han Seongsook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, "I also envisioned such a structure during the planning stage," and added, "We could do it once initially, and then possibly on a quarterly basis."

President Lee also emphasized, "Some of it could be carried out as projects by public institutions or state-owned enterprises; there are various ways." He further urged Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yooncheol, "Other things don't stick in my mind, but 'overflowing support'-is that really true?" and advised, "Don't be stingy or drip-feed the budget."

Since the beginning of this year, President Lee has repeatedly mentioned the possibility of a supplementary budget in various contexts. At the senior aides' meeting on January 15, he expressed concern that support for culture and the arts was insufficient, urging, "We must revive the foundation, even if it means a supplementary budget." At a cabinet meeting the very next day, he remarked, "There may be opportunities to allocate a supplementary budget in the future." At the cabinet meeting on January 27, he called for expanding the workforce for the delinquency management team, saying, "I don't know when, but it doesn't mean we won't have a supplementary budget at all this year."