South Korea's People Power Party attacks 2027 budget as fiscally reckless

South Korea's People Power Party has labeled the proposed 2027 budget a form of “fiscal runaway,” arguing that the government plans to raise both spending and debt while retaining a large pool of money outside direct parliamentary control.

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The 2027 budget proposed by the Lee Jae-myung government is, in a word, an unprecedented fiscal runaway, elastic budget that increases spending, increases national debt and even sets aside government pocket money outside parliamentary control.

People Power lawmakers on the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee said tax revenue was expected to increase by 194.2 trillion won. Despite that increase, they said the government planned to issue 106 trillion won in deficit bonds, bringing national debt to 1,519.8 trillion won. They questioned when the government would repay its bonds and reduce the burden on future generations.

The opposition also focused on the Future Response Fund. Lawmaker Lee Jong-wook said the fund would total 162.3 trillion won, with 45.4 trillion won designated for spending and 104.4 trillion won held as reserve funds. He argued that the government could alter up to 30% of the spending, or 13.5 trillion won, during the fiscal year without parliamentary approval.

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Isn't this the same as borrowing money to invest in stocks?

Lee compared the proposed approach to borrowing money to invest in stocks, while lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum called the simultaneous increase in tax revenue and deficit debt contradictory. The party said it would examine individual programs after the government submits the budget and seek cuts to wasteful or politically favored spending.

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With projected excess tax revenue of 194.2 trillion won next year, issuing 106 trillion won in deficit debt is an absurd contradiction.