▲ President Lee Jae Myung delivers a budget speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 2, 2026. (Yonhap)

Lee-budget speech

Lee asks for swift passage of extra budget to cope with economic fallout from Mideast war

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday asked the National Assembly to swiftly pass a supplementary budget to cope with the economic fallout from the war in the Middle East, stressing that extraordinary measures are needed to address the crisis.

In a budget speech to the National Assembly, Lee outlined the 26.2 trillion-won (US$17.1 billion) extra budget, describing the situation as an "unexpected, multifaceted" crisis as the U.S. war on Iran enters its second month.

"Extraordinary measures are needed in times of emergency," Lee said. "The government recognizes the current situation as a wartime-level crisis for the people's economy and is mobilizing all available resources to overcome it."

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