President Lee Jae-myung announced on the 2nd that his administration has drawn up a 26.2 trillion won supplementary budget "with the resolve not to miss the golden time for economic recovery."
In a supplementary budget address delivered at the National Assembly, President Lee said, "Today marks the 34th day since the Middle East war began, and this crisis — regarded as the worst energy security threat — is sending shockwaves through the global economy."
He continued, "Following the KOSPI's breakthrough above 5,000, our economy had a chance to soar again on the back of Korean companies leading global markets in semiconductors and shipbuilding. However, the Middle East war has confronted us with an unexpected compound crisis." He added, "Oil supply disruptions have caused gasoline and diesel prices to surge, and shortages of raw materials such as naphtha and urea are threatening a wide range of areas affecting people's livelihoods, including plastic products such as vinyl and fertilizer production."
President Lee stressed, "Above all, we must prepare a more thorough and robust response, given that this situation may not end in a short period." He also explained, "Our government, with the grave recognition that this is a wartime situation for the people's economy, is devoting all its efforts to overcoming the crisis at hand." He cited measures including △a shift to an emergency economic response system, △the introduction of a petroleum price cap, and △the procurement of 24 million barrels of crude oil from the UAE.
He then said, "I am here to personally explain the reasons for and key details of the '2026 supplementary budget' that the government has prepared without wasting a moment, and to seek the National Assembly's swift cooperation." In particular, he emphasized, "We have designed the budget to invest boldly where it is most needed amid the Middle East war crisis, while ensuring that the burden is not passed on to our people and the economy." He added, "I want to make it clear that this is a 'debt-free supplementary budget' with no government bond issuance." He said the government would utilize 25.2 trillion won in excess tax revenue generated from the stock market and semiconductor industry boom, along with 1 trillion won from fund reserves.