What did President Lee Jae Myung say about growth and welfare in his budget message?

Lee said it is unrealistic for now to pursue both economic growth and welfare expansion at the same time. He argued that the priority should be to expand the economic pie, while saying the government should not give up on welfare or let growth stall.

Why did Lee Jae Myung say focusing on growth matters more now?

He warned that if sustained growth is not recovered and the economy falls into zero or negative growth, polarization could worsen and welfare could decline. He also said more time would be needed for further welfare measures.

What was in South Korea’s next year budget proposal and what goal did Lee highlight?

The government proposed a record 820.9 trillion-won budget for next year, up more than 10 percent from this year. Lee said one of the budget’s goals is to strengthen the country’s global industrial competitiveness.

Lee says now is time to expand economic pie, rather than welfare

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Summary

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that expanding the economic pie should take priority over welfare expansion for now. He said pursuing growth and welfare together is ideal but unrealistic, and argued that weak or negative growth could worsen polarization and welfare. The government proposed a record 820.9 trillion-won budget for next year the previous day, and Lee said one goal is to strengthen global industrial competitiveness.

Key Facts

The government proposed a record 820.9 trillion-won budget for next year, more than 10 percent higher than this year’s budget.
The budget was proposed amid expectations of higher tax revenue from a semiconductor boom.
Lee said the government has not cut back on welfare and is also paying attention to improving welfare policies.
During a Cabinet meeting the same day, Lee cited bolstering the country’s global industrial competitiveness as one of next year’s budget goals.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 2, 2026 11:01 am KST

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday it is unrealistic to pursue both economic growth and welfare expansion for now, stressing that priority should be placed on expanding the economic pie rather than welfare.

The president wrote the message on his X account, uploading a media column that argued the government's budget bill for next year relatively lacked spending on "distribution."

"Giving up growth while expanding welfare should never happen. Pursing the expansion of both growth and welfare is ideal but unrealistic," Lee wrote, adding, "Now is inevitably the time to focus on growth to expand the pie."

The president still argued that the government has not cut back on welfare.

"If we fail to recover sustained growth and head toward zero or negative growth, (economic) polarization would further worsen and could even lead to a decline in welfare," he said.

The president added that the government is also paying attention to improving welfare policies and that more time would be needed for further measures.

The previous day, the government proposed a record 820.9 trillion-won ($599 billion) budget for next year, up more than 10 percent from this year, amid expectations of increased tax revenue stemming from a semiconductor boom.

During a Cabinet meeting the same day, Lee cited bolstering the country's global industrial competitiveness as one of the budget goals for next year.

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