Kim Yong-beom, Presidential Office policy chief, said Wednesday that discussion of a second supplementary budget in the second half of the year is "too premature at this stage," adding that "swiftly reviewing, finalizing, and executing the first supplementary budget is the top priority."
Speaking at a press briefing on the Middle East situation held at the Chunchugwan press center in the Presidential Office, Kim said, "A second supplementary budget is a very premature discussion. Swiftly executing the approximately 26 trillion won ($19.2 billion) supplementary budget compiled this time is our foremost goal right now." He continued, "We drew up the supplementary budget assuming about three months of direct shock from the war and about six months of indirect shock including supply chain disruptions. It has been prepared at a level that can sufficiently cover three to six months, so the situation beyond that is a matter to be assessed after faithfully executing this budget."
Earlier, Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, had remarked, "If the (Middle East) situation becomes prolonged, we are cautiously looking at the possibility that an additional supplementary budget may be needed in the second half beyond this one." With calls for additional fiscal injection gaining momentum in preparation for a prolonged Middle East war, Kim's remarks are interpreted as a signal to focus on executing the first supplementary budget of 26 trillion won. Kim also cautioned against overinterpretation of Hong's comments, saying, "I think that was a very general, principled statement."
Regarding calls in the National Assembly for increasing the size of the first supplementary budget, Kim added, "We hope the supplementary budget will be swiftly reviewed in a manner consistent with the proposal the government submitted." Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, who joined the briefing, also emphasized, "Of the approximately 26 trillion won supplementary budget, about 1 trillion won is for repaying government bonds, so if (the National Assembly review process) increases the size further, it would require taking on more debt. We need to reach an agreement on the original plan as much as possible."