Next Year's Budget to Exceed 800 Trillion Won, Over 10% Increase

South Korea's government plans to significantly boost its national budget for the upcoming year, projecting total expenditures to exceed 800 trillion won. This represents an increase of over 10% compared to the current year's budget, marking the largest year-on-year rise in total spending since 2009. The government aims to leverage a projected surge in tax revenue, fueled by a semiconductor super-cycle, to actively support industrial transformation.

Finance Minister Park Yun-gyu announced the plan at a national fiscal strategy meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung. The proposed 800 trillion won plus alpha budget for next year contrasts with the current year's budget of 727.9 trillion won, which itself was an 8.1% increase from the previous year. The total expenditure, including supplementary budgets, for the current year stands at 753 trillion won.

The government anticipates national tax revenue to surpass 500 trillion won next year, significantly exceeding the medium-term forecast of 412.1 trillion won. This surplus, over 100 trillion won more than the current year's tax revenue, will be allocated to a future response fund. This fund is earmarked for four key areas: supporting the younger generation, expanding future growth engines, investing in local regions, and fostering talent.

This proactive fiscal approach signals the Lee Jae-myung administration's commitment to utilizing increased tax revenues for strategic investments during a critical period of economic transition, aiming to foster long-term growth and address societal needs.

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Next year's total expenditure will be planned at a scale of 800 trillion won + alpha, an increase of more than 10% from this year's budget.