The government said Tuesday it will swiftly execute its budget before preparing a supplementary budget to support livelihoods and minimize the fallout from the Middle East crisis.
Gov’t to swiftly execute budget before preparing extra budget amid Middle East crisis
SEOUL, Mar 24 (YONHAP/APP): The government said Tuesday it will swiftly execute its budget before preparing a supplementary budget to support livelihoods and minimize the fallout from the Middle East crisis.
The plan was discussed during a fiscal execution review meeting led by acting Budget Minister Lim Ki-geun, where officials assessed budget implementation across sectors in response to the situation in the Middle East.
“The situation in the Middle East has persisted for more than three weeks and is placing a significant burden on our economy,” Lim said, pledging to closely monitor and ensure thorough execution of the relevant budget.
Lim added that the government would expedite spending to minimize damage to low-income and vulnerable groups, as well as export firms, before finalizing the supplementary budget.
As part of the measures, the government already executed 129.7 billion won (US$86.6 million) in energy vouchers as of last Tuesday to ease fuel cost burdens on vulnerable groups.
The government also provided 43.5 billion won in emergency management stabilization guarantees and 94.2 billion won in emergency management funds for companies directly and indirectly affected by the Middle East crisis.
The ruling Democratic Party plans to pass the supplementary budget bill at a parliamentary plenary session next month, following an order from President Lee Jae Myung to swiftly prepare measures to address the economic fallout.
