Finance Ministry Split Countdown: MOEF to Separate into Policy Coordination and Budget Planning Arms

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), set to be divided into the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Office of Budget Planning on January 2 next year, is accelerating its organizational restructuring in the final stages.

According to relevant government agencies on Tuesday, the detailed organizational structure at the bureau and office level following MOEF's separation is expected to be finalized at a Cabinet meeting after a vice ministerial meeting as early as this week.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy will be reorganized with two vice ministers and six office directors, while the Office of Budget Planning will have one vice minister and three office directors. Compared to MOEF's current structure of two vice ministers and six office directors (excluding the Grade-1 spokesperson position), this represents an overall increase of one vice minister and three office director positions.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy, to be led by Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yoon-cheol, will add the Innovation Growth Office and Treasury Office to its existing Deputy Minister Office, International Economic Management Office, Tax Policy Office, and Policy Coordination Office. The Innovation Growth Office will house the existing Policy Coordination Bureau along with a newly established Strategic Industries Bureau. The Strategic Industries Bureau is known to oversee artificial intelligence (AI) and US investment fund operations. The Treasury Office expands the existing Treasury Bureau, and a new People's Livelihood Economy Bureau overseeing price stability, employment, and other livelihood issues will be created under the Deputy Minister Office.

The Office of Budget Planning will add a Future Strategy Planning Office to MOEF's existing Budget Office and Coordination Office. The Future Strategy Planning Office will establish a new bureau combining MOEF's current Future Affairs Bureau and Fiscal Policy Bureau with participatory budgeting functions. This effectively revives a similar organization to the Participatory Budget Division that was established under the Moon Jae-in administration and abolished under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

"The intent is to give the Office of Budget Planning not only budget formulation but also 'planning' functions for medium- to long-term national strategy," a government official said. "The Ministry of Finance and Economy will focus on 'coordination' functions as a policy control tower."

With the launch of the Office of Budget Planning, attention is also turning to who will be appointed as the inaugural minister-level chief. Names circulating in government circles include MOEF Second Vice Minister Im Ki-geun, Presidential Office Fiscal Planning Advisor Ryu Deok-hyun, and politicians including Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker An Do-geol.