Party and Government Meet Early for Budget Drafting... "Next Year's Budget to Serve as a Strategic Investment Resource for the Future"

Next Year’s Budget to Exceed 800 Trillion Won Plus Alpha
Political Input Gathered from the Drafting Stage
National Assembly’s Voice Unheard Due to Delayed Committee Formation

The Democratic Party of Korea and the government began a party-government consultation on the budget proposal on the 21st, about a month earlier than when the budget proposal is usually submitted to the National Assembly. Both sides agreed that next year’s budget should be actively utilized as a source for strategic investment in preparation for the future.

Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader Byungdo Han, along with Hongkeun Park, Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, held a party-government consultation at the National Assembly on this day to discuss the direction of next year’s budget formulation. This consultation was arranged at the budget formulation stage, rather than at the National Assembly submission stage, in order to reflect the opinions of the ruling party and the broader political community.

Acting Leader Han stated, “Next year’s budget should serve as a cornerstone for seizing Korea's golden time for the future,” and emphasized that “bold and strategic investments are needed to accelerate the three mega projects.” In addition, he called for a locally driven growth strategy, recovery of people's livelihoods, mitigation of polarization, and the allocation of disaster-related safety budgets. Regarding next year’s budget, Han added, “The proposal will be the largest ever, planned at 800 trillion won plus alpha, and national tax revenues are expected to also reach a record high of more than 500 trillion won.”

Hongkeun Park, Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, is speaking at the Party-Government Consultation on the 2027 Budget Proposal held at the National Assembly on the 21st. 2026.7.21 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Jungae Han, Chair of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party, requested additional support for fulfilling major local election pledges such as mega-special zones, climate insurance, and solar income villages, as well as increased investment in expanding housing supply infrastructure and youth employment budgets.

Minister Park, regarding next year’s budget formulation, announced plans for a major restructuring of government spending. He said, “We have instructed each ministry to reinvest resources secured through expenditure efficiency more strategically,” and added, “Our target for this year is 50 trillion won.” He clarified that, regardless of any additional tax revenues, the government will push forward with restructuring spending for inefficient or underperforming projects. Minister Park continued, “We expect to see record-breaking additional tax revenues due to an unprecedented semiconductor boom,” and revealed, “We will establish a Future Response Fund and reinvest it in areas such as the younger generation, growth engines, provinces, and talent development.”

Meanwhile, Minister Park expressed disappointment that he was unable to hear the opinions of the legislature regarding the budget proposal due to delays in forming parliamentary committees. He stated, “If all standing committees are formed next year, we will actively consider and reflect opinions collected by the Speaker of the National Assembly from each committee during the formulation process.”

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