President Lee Returns from Overseas Trip, Discusses Investment Plans for Semiconductor Tax Revenue

Presides Over National Fiscal Strategy Meeting at the Blue House
Second Round of Work Reports This Week
Real Estate Policy and Implementation Also Under Review

President Lee Jae-myung will preside over the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting on July 13, discussing next year's budget and the direction of fiscal management for the next five years. Attention is focused on whether the blueprint for the so-called "Future Response Fund," which would invest additional tax revenue gained from the semiconductor boom in future industries, will be released. President Lee is also scheduled to receive the second round of government work reports on July 15. This move is interpreted as a sign that he intends to accelerate state affairs in his second year in office by directly overseeing key issues.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Mega Project Public-Private Joint Inspection Meeting held at the Blue House on July 6, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On this day, President Lee will attend the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting at the Blue House under the theme of "An Irreplaceable Korea Opened by Bold Innovation and Investment." The fiscal strategy meeting is where the government sets the basic direction for fiscal operations and determines priority investment sectors before drafting the budget for the following year. The meeting will also address the five-year fiscal management plan, mandatory expenditure control, and restructuring measures. This will be President Lee's first domestic schedule since his overseas trip.

The core agenda of the meeting is investment in future core industries. According to the outlook recently shared by Ryu Deok-hyun, Senior Secretary for Fiscal Policy, on the Blue House's policy communication program, the additional tax revenue this year is expected to surpass the supplementary budget (approximately 25 trillion won) and continue for several years. The government, the ruling party, and the Blue House are reviewing measures to establish a separate Future Response Fund to focus on national strategic projects, instead of consuming the growing tax revenue by incorporating it into the general budget each year.

The Blue House aims to fundamentally raise the nation's potential growth rate through this initiative. Regarding the current semiconductor boom, policy chief Kim Yong-bum argued on Facebook on July 12 that "this is not simply an economic recovery, but the beginning of a phase that could change the long-term trend itself," adding that "discussions have begun about the possibility that restoring the potential growth rate to 3 percent may not be an entirely unattainable goal."

On this day, cabinet members will also report on investment plans for key industries such as the semiconductor sector. The Ministry of Science and ICT will announce plans for a mega project worth 1,400 trillion won, while the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will present investment plans for semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) robots. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment will reveal strategies for innovating infrastructure such as power and water, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will announce plans for developing high-tech industrial complexes.

Meanwhile, starting this week, President Lee will intensively review the implementation status of policies, including real estate policy. From July 14 to July 16, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance will each hold public forums on housing supply, finance, and the tax system. Key topics will include expanding supply, loan regulations, differentiated property tax for single-home and multi-home owners, taxation of ultra-high-priced residential properties, and the relationship between property and transaction taxes.

On July 15, the second round of work reports for government ministries and public institutions will begin. The work reports will take place over four weekdays until July 21, excluding weekends. In addition to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, 19 ministries, 6 agencies, 18 offices, 7 committees, and 140 public institutions responsible for citizen-focused projects will participate. The main focus will be to review how much the policies and presidential directives presented in the first round of work reports at the end of last year have been implemented. The entire process will be broadcast live, with a 200-member citizen observation group in attendance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.