Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Korea faces critical moment to revive economy: president
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during his address to the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, urging swift passage of a government-led extra budget bill. Joint Press Corps
By Anna J. Park
Lee Jae Myung appeals to Assembly for swift passage of supplementary budget
Now is the critical point to revive the nation’s sluggish economy, and a supplementary budget is a vital tool to confront economic headwinds and safeguard social cohesion, President Lee Jae Myung said, Thursday.
He appealed for bipartisan unity for swift passage of the 30.5 trillion won ($22.4 billion) supplementary budget bill, in his first address to the Assembly since taking office on June 4.
Stressing the need to jump-start the economy and bolster support for vulnerable communities, the president said it would be “irresponsible” for the government to cling to austerity in the middle of an economic crisis and such inaction would be a “denial of the very purpose of government.”
"The government’s greatest duty is to protect the lives of its people," Lee said. "Timing is everything in the economy, and now is the moment to act by implementing the supplementary budget."
Lee said on his first day in office, his very first executive order was to establish an emergency economic response task force to overcome the economic downturn and restore people’s livelihoods.
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during his address to the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
To address a steep decline in private consumption, the government will spend 11.3 trillion won of the 30.5 trillion won budget to distribute prepaid vouchers. It is a program mixing universal and income-based payments, a shift from Lee's initial campaign pledge of providing a universal payment to every citizen regardless of income levels.
"The consumption voucher will be universally distributed to all citizens, but designed with more substantial and tailored support for vulnerable groups and regions facing population declines. Each citizen will receive between 150,000 won and 520,000 won, depending on eligibility," he said.
Another 3.9 trillion won will be set aside for investment promotion funds to stimulate the economy through infrastructure projects such as railways, roads and ports. An additional 5 trillion won will go to livelihood stabilization funds to support small business owners and vulnerable groups.
The president also laid out his plans to expand investments in AI and renewable energy, while providing 1.3 trillion won in venture capital funding with the aim of revitalizing the nation’s economic growth.
President Lee Jae Myung greets lawmakers at the National Assembly in Seoul after delivering his supplementary budget policy speech, Thursday. Yonhap
Assessing that the country is entering a perilous economic phase — marked by sluggish export, weakening domestic demand and persistent pressures from high inflation, elevated interest rates and a strong dollar — Lee noted that Korea’s economic growth has hovered around zero percent for four consecutive quarters. He urged the Assembly to act swiftly and pass the supplementary budget bill.
"If this prolonged low growth continues, we risk falling into a vicious cycle where opportunities diminish and competition and conflict intensify," he underscored.
During his speech, Lee mentioned “economy” 24 times, “growth” 12 times, “recovery” 10 times, “livelihood” nine times and “crisis” seven times.
Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea greeted the president's address with applause and cheers, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) members sat in silence, creating a stark contrast in tone.
After the speech, PPP spokesman Rep. Park Sung-hoon said the prepaid voucher program is "money of gratitude" to citizens for electing him as president, criticizing that the money increases the national debt.
"We acknowledge the need for an extra budget, but we can't agree on 'political extra budget' or 'populist extra budget.'"