President Lee Jae-myung said on the 10th that "additional fiscal resources are needed to support small business owners and struggling companies," declaring that "the situation calls for an early supplementary budget" amid the Middle East crisis. The remarks are interpreted as officially announcing a supplementary budget in the first half of the year.
President Lee made the comments during a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House while discussing the surge in oil prices triggered by developments in the Middle East. "The most important principle of fiscal execution is the secondary distribution of wealth," he said. "I am thinking about directing resources toward easing polarization, and if we have the same amount of funds, perhaps we should consider differentiated distribution."
He added, "So we need to address the fuel tax portion (to ease the public burden), and if we are going to provide direct support to consumers, don't we need a supplementary budget?"
In particular, he noted that "tax revenues are expected to increase significantly more than anticipated this year," suggesting funds could be secured through a revised revenue estimate based on excess tax collection. While discussing the transition to alternative energy, he said, "We need to push this through quickly while we have the opportunity. Since we will need an early supplementary budget anyway, we should act boldly."
Regarding the potential redeployment of U.S. Forces Korea assets amid the Middle East situation, President Lee stated, "If you ask whether this would seriously impair our deterrence strategy against North Korea, I can say 'absolutely not.'"
