Korea's finance minister expressed concerns Wednesday about populist campaign pledges being pushed by many politicians ahead of major elections, saying that he will closely look into whether they have sustainability from the fiscal point of view.
South Korea is to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in April and December this year. Political parties are rushing to unveil many campaign pledges, including additional welfare programs, apparently aimed at appealing to a broader number of voters.
Policymakers see some of them as populist and unsustainable as they could increase government spending sharply in the years to come and eventually hurt the country's overall fiscal health.
"It is worrisome that uncertainties are deepening over future policy directions related to legislations and pledges being rushed ahead of elections," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a crisis management meeting in central Seoul.
"For the promises made by politicians, we will take a close look into related balance sheets and their sustainability before handing over the results to the political community."
As for the opposition lawmakers' push to scrap the free trade agreement with the United States, Bahk expressed worries that it could negatively affect the country's overall sovereign credibility in the world.
The main opposition Democratic United Party has vowed to scrap the pact unless Washington agrees to hold renegotiations to revise some clauses that it says unfairly favors the U.S. The accord was approved by legislatures of the two countries last year but has yet to take effect.
The minister urged politicians to take a "longer and more careful" stance toward such a trade deal. He also asked for their cooperation to implement the FTA with the world's largest economy without further delay. (Yonhap)