President Lee Jae-myung said on the 25th that in drafting next year's budget, "this is not the time to make the mistake of getting bogged down in managing near-term fiscal figures."
Lee made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House that day, saying the government must "firmly treat the expanded fiscal room as a seed for harvesting greater fruit in the future and shift to a productive fiscal strategy." He said, "As advanced industries such as semiconductors grow rapidly amid the AI transformation, our economy is facing conditions entirely different from before," adding that the government "must make good use of the opportunities that the industrial transformation will create to lead a real leap forward in people's lives."
He went on to say, "We need the wisdom to invest precious future resources in more efficient and productive areas, growing today's 10,000 won into tomorrow's 100,000 won and later into 1 million won," and urged that "the government should boldly adjust nonessential and nonurgent spending to pursue sound fiscal management." He also asked officials to "wrap up the budget drafting well, with an emphasis on resolving key national tasks such as promoting hyper-gap growth, easing K-shaped polarization, achieving balanced development and building a ladder to the future for young people."
Lee also asked that "after the budget bill is submitted, reasonable alternatives from the National Assembly or the public be reviewed with an open attitude." He added, "Policy is, of course, something the government proposes, the National Assembly deliberates on, and the National Assembly ultimately decides," and said, "Some articles criticize the government as flip-flopping when its policy is revised to accept the National Assembly's views, and as unilateral when it proceeds without an agreement with the Assembly — but there is no need to dwell too much on this."
