Koo Yun-cheol: "If necessary, we will actively consider an extra budget; it can be done without issuing new government bonds"

The Financial News reported that on the 10th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol addressed the possibility of drawing up a supplementary budget in response to a sharp rise in global oil prices triggered by the United States–Iran war. He stated, "We will make full use of the already-approved budget passed by the National Assembly, and if necessary, we will actively consider even that option," referring to an extra budget.
This is the first time Deputy Prime Minister Koo has used the phrase "actively consider" in relation to a supplementary budget.
Koo made these remarks at the State Council of South Korea in response to President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea, who said that a supplementary budget would be needed "if we are to provide direct fuel cost support to consumers." Lee Jae-myung has previously hinted several times at the possibility of a supplementary budget of 10 to 20 trillion won in the first half of this year.
Koo added, "Recently, the semiconductor industry has been improving, and with the revitalization of the stock market, transaction tax revenues are also increasing, so it seems that, at an appropriate scale, we could do this without issuing new government bonds."
skjung@fnnews.com Jung Sang-geun Reporter