President Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday during a policy speech on a supplementary budget to respond to the Middle East war that he would "enable local governments to serve as agents of crisis response," emphasizing that the government would "bolster local investment resources by 9.5 trillion won ($6.9 billion) through local allocation taxes and grants to support local governments' crisis response efforts."
In the speech delivered at the National Assembly on the 26.2 trillion won supplementary budget, President Lee expressed concern that "the current crisis is not a passing shower that will soon stop, but a massive storm with no telling how long it will last," adding, "that is what makes it all the more a crisis."
"Even if the war were to end tomorrow, it would inevitably take a considerable period for the destroyed energy infrastructure in the Middle East to be restored and for supply to return to previous levels," Lee said. "As we cannot know when the crisis will end, we must overcome the present crisis with a long-term perspective and prepare for tomorrow."
He stressed the importance of "unified strength." "The mindset of sharing each other's pain and weathering the crisis together is more urgent than ever," he said. "When we save every single drop of oil, do not waste even a single plastic bag, show consideration for one another, and add the will to overcome this together, we will be able to exit the tunnel of crisis safely and swiftly."
President Lee also emphasized the government's extraordinary resolve. "We will respond with zero tolerance against acts of reaping unjust profits through collusion, hoarding, and cornering the market that exploit the community's crisis," he said. He appealed to the public, saying, "I ask citizens to actively participate in everyday energy-saving practices such as using public transportation and reducing electricity use in daily life." He added, "I ask you to once again demonstrate the resilience of our great Korean people, who have overcome countless national crises and turned crises into new opportunities."
Finally, he stressed bipartisan cooperation, saying, "Let us save together, share together, and overcome together," and urging lawmakers to "unite in support of this supplementary budget for crisis response." He continued, "This supplementary budget is both a breakwater to protect the lives of our people from the waves of crisis and a springboard for Korea to leap forward after the crisis." He raised his voice again, stating, "We must wisely resolve the crisis triggered by the Middle East war, seize it as an opportunity to fundamentally improve our economic structure, and place our economy on an unshakeable foundation."
In particular, President Lee said, "The success or failure of crisis response depends on speed," urging "bipartisan cooperation so that this budget can be passed swiftly." He then proposed, "In the face of a national crisis, let the government and the National Assembly, the ruling and opposition parties, join hands and move forward with nothing but devotion to our people and our nation."