President Lee Jae-myung asked the National Assembly to approve a record 820.9 trillion won budget for the coming year, presenting it as a shift toward โgrowth for everyone.โ In his address, Lee said the economy was recovering in a V-shaped pattern but that inequality and polarization remained. He argued that growth opportunities and gains should reach all regions and citizens rather than remain concentrated among a limited group.
The governmentโs stated priorities include jobs, affordable finance for ordinary households and housing stability. It also plans greater investment in artificial intelligence, future growth industries and national safety. Lee said the budget and state administration must change as the economy moves beyond a phase of purely quantitative development.
The sharpest dispute concerns how to use additional tax revenue generated in sectors including semiconductors. The government wants to place the surplus in a future-response fund, saying the money can support a rebound in potential growth while helping maintain fiscal stability. The People Power Party opposes that approach and says repayment of national debt should come before issuing or arranging new fiscal resources.
Lee urged lawmakers to pass the budget by the statutory deadline of December 2, stressing the importance of speed in implementation. The opposition has described the proposal as a declaration of โfuture plunder,โ setting up a difficult review process. The size of the budget is established, but the evidence does not specify how individual programs will be distributed among regions or how the competing fiscal approaches would affect debt levels over time.