People Power Party: "Despite Surplus Tax Revenue, 106 Trillion Won in Deficit Bonds... When Will the Debt Be Repaid?"

"104 Trillion Won in Future Response Fund Is the Administration's Slush Fund"

On September 1, the People Power Party defined the government's 2027 budget proposal as a "fiscally reckless elastic budget" and announced plans for a thorough review. The party criticized the government for increasing the issuance of deficit-financing government bonds, thereby raising the debt burden on future generations, even though national tax revenue is expected to rise significantly next year.

Yoo Sangbeom, the People Power Party's secretary of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, stated at a press conference, "It is contradictory for the government to issue deficit-financing government bonds instead of repaying debt first, especially when excess tax revenue is expected to increase."

He further questioned, "If the government issues deficit bonds to boost spending because the economy is weak, and then increases spending again when it receives more tax revenue than expected, when will it ever repay government bonds and reduce the burden on future generations?"

Yoo Sangbeom, Spokesperson of the People Power Party on the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Deliberation Committee. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Yoo asserted that although the government explains next year's budget as 820.9 trillion won, a 12.8 percent increase over this year, the actual figure rises to 925.3 trillion won if 104.4 trillion won in surplus funds from the Future Response Fund is included, representing a growth rate of 27.1 percent. He referred to the Future Response Fund as "the administration's slush fund" and urged that it should be prioritized for repaying national debt.

He also took issue with the fact that the national debt is expected to rise by 106 trillion won, reaching 1,519.8 trillion won next year. While the Bank of Korea is pursuing a tight monetary policy, he criticized the government for maintaining an expansionary fiscal policy, calling it "a serious policy discord."

Lee Jongwook, another People Power Party member of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, also criticized the government's intention to secure and manage a massive surplus within the Future Response Fund while still issuing government bonds. Lee commented, "It's like borrowing money to invest in stocks," and added, "This approach cannot be applied to managing national finances."

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