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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol presides over a Cabinet meeting at his office in Seoul on Aug. 29, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol opens a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 29, 2023, in this photo provided by the office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
(2nd LD) Yoon-Cabinet meeting
(2nd LD) Yoon pledges to stick to sound fiscal policy, slams predecessor for reckless spending
(ATTN: ADDS photo, additional info in paras 8-10, 12-13)
By Kang Jae-eun
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to stick to a sound fiscal policy, strongly criticizing the preceding Moon Jae-in government for increasing national debts with reckless spending.
Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting, pledging to reject temptations of spending for political purposes, as the government proposed a national budget of 656.9 trillion won (US$495 billion) for 2024, the slowest on-year growth since 2005.
"Due to the previous administration's lax fiscal management, the national debts rose by 400 trillion won, and reached over 1,000 trillion won for the first time last year," Yoon said in opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting.
Thanks to his administration's efforts to achieve fiscal soundness, Yoon said the growth of national debts has markedly slowed, and the government will continue to stick to a sound fiscal policy for the sake of external credibility and price stabilization.
"Some people claim the government should boldly release budget ahead of elections," Yoon said. "But expanding spending through government bond issuance would shift the fiscal burdens to future generations, lead to a fall in sovereign ratings and worsen difficulties with business activities and livelihoods."
He said the government has reduced a total of 23 trillion won from last year by cutting budgets previously earmarked for political subsidies and for "cartels with vested interests."
Instead, the government will focus spending on three key areas: improving welfare for the vulnerable class, strengthening key state functions, such as national security and the rule of law, and investing in new growth engines to create quality jobs, he said.
"First of all, we will reject any budget being used for the purpose of buying votes and use the saved financial resources to provide support for ordinary people, vulnerable classes and the socially weak," he said.
Support for the elderly will also be strengthened, he said.
On support for the vulnerable classes, Yoon said the government will increase the living allowances distributed to low-income households and allocate more funds for basic pensions and jobs for seniors.
Yoon also said wages for enlisted troops will be raised by 350,000 won, and the incentives offered to military commissioned and non-commissioned officers will also be increased, saying the welfare of service members is directly linked to national security.
Budgets allocated to the police will also be adjusted, Yoon said, to help officers focus more on duties related to public safety. The government also plans to provide less-lethal handguns to all police personnel working in the field, in the wake of recent violent crimes in the country.
This is to encourage the police to use such weapons to tackle crimes, as they are currently reluctant to use ordinary pistols because it could lead to deaths and the officers could be held responsible.
To help bolster the economy, around 2.5 trillion won will be allocated to nurture future strategic industries, 1.8 trillion won to foster global exchanges in research and development, and 2 trillion won to create a fund to incubate startups.
Yoon also vowed to increase export financing support for the nuclear and defense sectors, while providing expanded financial incentives to attract foreign companies to do business in South Korea, as well as to promote the reshoring of local firms in high-tech industries.
On the issue of Japan's release of radioactive water from its Fukushima nuclear power plant, Yoon said the government will increase budgets related to monitoring the safety of local seafood and the country's oceans to approximately 740 billion won.
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