Supplementary Budget Swells by 3.5 Trillion Won... Park Hong-keun: "Are We Supposed to Issue Government Bonds?"

As the supplementary budget, originally set at 26.2 trillion won, was increased by about 3.5 trillion won during deliberations at the National Assembly’s standing committees, Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong-keun voiced concern on the 9th, saying, "If this means we should issue government bonds to further expand the supplementary budget, we have no choice but to review it very carefully." The current supplementary budget is to be funded with excess tax revenue and does not involve the issuance of government bonds.
Appearing on CBS Radio’s "Park Sung-tae's News Show" that day, Park said, "We basically have no choice but to maintain the framework of the government’s original proposal."
Earlier, the National Assembly reviewed the supplementary budget proposals for each ministry through its standing committees. Nine out of ten committees approved their portions of the supplementary budget, increasing the total by 3.4832 trillion won. If the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee also completes its review, the amount of the increase could grow further.
Regarding talk of a possible "second supplementary budget," Park held back from making definitive comments, saying, "For now, what matters is to pass this supplementary budget quickly and execute it without delay."
He added, "No one can accurately predict how much worse the war in the Middle East might become or how great its impact on our economy will be," explaining, "Since we cannot foresee that at this point, I do not think there is any need to get ahead of ourselves and talk about it now."
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram Reporter