[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Park Hongkeun on President's 'Future Response Fund Holiday Discount Proposal': "We Will Use Other Funding Sources"

Holiday discount support unlikely to use Future Response Fund
Acknowledges 300 million won increase for Supreme Court justices' incentive payments was inappropriate

Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hongkeun rejected President Lee Jae-myung’s proposal to use the Future Response Fund to subsidize discounts on agricultural, livestock and fisheries products during major holidays.

Planning and Budget Minister 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.

At a parliamentary audit of the Finance and Economy Planning Committee held at the National Assembly on the 8th, People Power Party lawmaker Bae Jun-young asked Park for his position on the president’s remarks and whether the proposal would be reflected in next year’s budget. Park replied, “We will use other funding sources.” At a Cabinet meeting last month, President Lee proposed allocating about 1 trillion won to support discounts on agricultural, livestock and fisheries products during major holidays, mentioning the use of the Future Response Fund as an idea.

Park clarified that the president’s remarks were only a general proposal. “I understand that the president gave general instructions without having specific information about the details of the Future Response Fund or its planned projects,” Park said. “The budget for holiday support has already been allocated without issue this year through a change to the fund’s management plan.”

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-jun pressed Park on why next year’s budget proposal included an additional 300 million won for regular incentive payments to Supreme Court justices, even though the Board of Audit and Inspection had issued a warning over the payments, citing the lack of a legal basis. Park acknowledged that including the funds in the budget was inappropriate while explaining the practical limits of the process. He said he had learned that the Supreme Court had been regularly paying justices about 2 million won a month in incentives, but the Board of Audit and Inspection announced its findings after the government’s budget proposal had been finalized in practice, so the government’s own 300 million won increase remained in the proposal. “We will thoroughly reflect the Board of Audit and Inspection’s findings and the National Assembly’s concerns to ensure the matter is reviewed at an appropriate level during the budget deliberation stage,” Park said.

Regarding follow-up budget measures for the real estate supply plan, Park said sufficient funding had already been included to support the government’s goals. “The full amount needed to meet the target of supplying 1.19 million homes, a key element of the recently announced housing stability measures, has been allocated,” Park said. “If funding falls short during implementation, we will also consider providing additional support using various sources, including the tax revenue surplus expected this year.”

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