[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Future Response Fund Under Scrutiny: "Pay Off Debt First" vs. "Invest in Youth and Regions"

Ministry of Planning and Budget Parliamentary Audit
Park Honggeun: "We need to open up room for economic growth and create a virtuous cycle in public finances"

The Future Response Fund was a key focus during the Ministry of Planning and Budget’s parliamentary audit. On the use of excess tax revenue, lawmakers called for funds to be used to repay government bonds rather than build up the Future Response Fund, while others argued that more investment should go to young people and local regions.

The use of excess tax revenue was a major issue at the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee’s parliamentary audit on the 8th. Kim Young-hwan of the Democratic Party of Korea cited housing insecurity among young people and argued that “the Ministry of Planning and Budget should make active social investments in housing supply.”

Minister of Planning and Budget Park Honggeun answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Planning and Budget at the National Assembly on Oct. 8, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Yoon Young-seok of the People Power Party proposed bold investment in local regions. “If the government designated about 10 youth hub cities across the country outside the Seoul metropolitan area and provided them with exceptional funding to address the concentration of resources in the capital region and the problem of youth employment, spending 100 trillion won would not be too much,” he said.

Lawmakers from the People Power Party also called for prioritizing government bond repayments. Lim Yi-ja of the party criticized the plan as “a debt-funded, negative-spread fiscal strategy that involves borrowing at high interest rates of 4% or more on government bonds while seeking returns at lower rates.”

Park Soo-young of the People Power Party said, “The idea of establishing the Future Response Fund deserves praise,” but criticized the plan, saying, “Of the 162 trillion won allocated to the fund, 104 trillion won is to be set aside, while the national debt will increase by 106 trillion won. This amounts to borrowing money to save it.”

Citing the increase in the share of debt incurred to cover deficits, Kim Sang-hoon of the People Power Party argued, “Now that so much additional tax revenue has been collected, we should be actively paying down debt.” Ahn Sang-hoon of the party also criticized the plan, saying, “If this is seen as a temporary surplus in tax revenue, paying off debt owed by future generations should be the priority.”

In response to the lawmakers’ criticism, Minister of Planning and Budget Park Honggeun said, “Assemblyman Ahn mentioned Norway as an example of spending for future generations, but we don’t have oil.” He added, “Ultimately, what we should pass on is a country that can grow sustainably. I believe what we truly need to leave to future generations is a structure that opens up new avenues for growth and enables fiscal resources to circulate in a virtuous cycle.” Park stressed, “Now is the golden time to invest. The question is not whether to avoid taking on debt, but how to invest.”

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