South Korea's Lee urges approval of US$22.5bil extra budget
Lee Jae-myung delivering his speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on June 26, 2025. - Bloomberg
SEOUL: South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung on Thursday (June 26) called on parliament to approve a US$22.5 billion supplementary budget aimed at reviving the economy, in his first address to MPs since taking office.
Lee was elected in a snap vote this month following the impeachment of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his disastrous martial law declaration in December.
The new president's appeal comes as Asia's fourth-largest economy -- heavily reliant on exports -- reels from steep tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
In April, the United States slapped a 25 per cent tariff on South Korean goods as part of Trump's sweeping global trade measures. The rates were later put on a 90-day hold, giving both sides until July to reach a deal.
"Timing is everything when it comes to the economy, and now is the time to act," Lee told lawmakers in the main chamber of parliament.
"To overcome the downturn and restore livelihoods, we have drafted a supplementary budget totalling 30.5 trillion won," he said, adding the package was designed for swift implementation.
More than 40 per cent of the spending would go towards universal consumption coupons, according to the proposal, with individuals eligible for up to 520,000 won ($380) each.
He described the measure as "the minimum" his government could do to breathe life into the economy.
Economic growth remained below one per cent for four consecutive quarters, before posting negative growth in the first quarter of this year, Lee said.
Private consumption and government spending also contracted in the first quarter, he added.
Consumer prices rose to 1.9 per cent in May from the year before, official data showed.
Lee's request is widely expected to pass, as his centre-left Democratic Party commands a majority in the 300-seat legislature.
On North Korea, he reaffirmed his campaign pledge to pursue dialogue with Pyongyang without preconditions, saying peace on the Korean peninsula was key to economic growth.
"I will create a virtuous cycle where peace drives economic growth, which in turn further strengthens peace," he said.
Lee's tenure begins as South Korea finds itself in the middle of a growing superpower standoff between the United States, its traditional security guarantor, and China, its largest trade partner. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Singapore company allegedly received US$45mil illegally from abroad, two men charged
Two men were handed one charge each on June 26, 2025 for being involved in carrying out a business of providing payment services illegally. - Photo: ST file SINGAPORE: Two men were charged in court on Thursday (June 26), after the company they were involved in allegedly received about US$45 million (S$57.4 million) over multiple transactions illegally. Patrick Lee Paik Cheng, 65, a Malaysian and the director of Tupt, and Dinh Tien Dat, 28, a Vietnamese, who is said to have been in a position to influence the conduct of the company, were handed one charge each for being involved in carrying out a business of providing payment services illegally. Company records show that Tupt, a Singapore company, is a wholesale business that can operate on a fee or commission basis. According to court documents, it received US$44,951,709.70 between July 28, 2020, and April 29, 2022, from outside Singapore via 26 transactions in an RHB bank account and 32 transactions in a Standard Chartered Bank account. Said the police in a statement: 'The Commercial Affairs Department's investigations established that neither the men nor the company have a licence to carry out a business that provides any type of payment service in Singapore, nor were they considered as exempted payment service providers under the Payment Services Act 2019.' In court on June 26, Dinh said he wanted to plead guilty to his charge, while Lee did not indicate his plea. Dinh is expected to plead guilty on Aug 7, while Lee's case was adjourned for a further mention on July 24. If convicted, the men can each be fined up to $125,000, jailed for up to three years, or both. In its statement, the police said it will not hesitate to act against any individual or entity involved in providing unlicensed cross-border money transfer services. It added: 'Members of the public are strongly advised to use financial institutions or payment service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore when conducting cross-border money transfers. 'The police would like to caution against engaging in unlicensed payment service activities, as unlicensed payment service providers are not regulated and are not subjected to stringent anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.' - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Hope in fraught times: Trump-Xi bond could shift ties for the better, say US experts
BEIJING: US President Donald Trump's free hand domestically and open admiration for Chinese President Xi Jinping could make him the wild card capable of shifting the relationship between the world's two largest powers from rivalry to cooperation, American scholars have said. Speaking at a session developed in collaboration with The Straits Times at a World Economic Forum event in Tianjin on Thursday (June 26), Harvard professor Graham Allison pointed out that Trump is not a China hawk. 'If you look at the campaign last year, there were a thousand people running for office in the country in which 80 per cent of the people have a negative view of China,' he said, referring to the US general election in 2024. 'Only one person had positive things to say about China. This was Donald Trump.' Prof Allison noted that Trump had said to Xi that when China and the United States work together, they can solve most of the world's problems. He said he believed that Trump is determined to be a 'great deal maker' and a 'great peacemaker'. 'If he is going to succeed in that mission, the opportunity for Trump and Xi to surprise us on the upside, I think, is enough to be hopeful,' said the national security analyst who has served under former US presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Prof Allison's optimism stands out in the current climate. Since Trump began his second term in January, the US-China rivalry has intensified – most notably with the US' imposition of unprecedentedly high tariffs on Chinese goods – leading many observers to take a pessimistic view of the world's most consequential relationship. His optimism is also striking, given that he is famous for popularising the 'Thucydides Trap' – a concept that draws upon historical pattern to suggest that conflict becomes likely when an established power feels threatened by a rising power. (Clockwise from left) ST Foreign Editor Li Xueying moderating a session with Professor Graham Allison, Professor Jin Keyu, Professor Monica Toft and Professor Happymon Jacob at a World Economic Forum event in Tianjin on June 26. - Photo: World Economic Forum Another American scholar at the same session shared his optimism. Professor Monica Toft of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy said Trump has significant leeway to take a softer approach on China, given that most Americans are not interested in foreign policy and that Congress and the courts are unlikely to challenge him. 'If President Trump decided he could align US interests more closely with China – without giving away the store – he has both the prerogative and the opportunity to do that,' she said. Prof Toft noted that global politics today is shaped by two strongmen – Trump and Xi – who share a personal rapport. 'They talk to one another, they respect one another, they admire one another,' she said. 'It could be an extraordinary period for humanity if they can find a way to collaborate and coordinate on certain issues.' Speaking at the same session, Professor Jin Keyu from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology also saw bright spots in an otherwise gloomy picture of the US-China rivalry. 'I do not agree with the view that they are in a new Cold War,' she said. She said while China and the US may be politically opposite and economically competitive, there is a need for them to cooperate to provide global public goods. 'There is space to collaborate, whether it's on the risk of artificial intelligence, climate, data transparency, and so forth,' she said. At the session titled 'Geopolitics: An Unfolding Story', moderated by ST Foreign Editor Li Xueying, the panel also discussed the erosion of the 'nuclear taboo', a normative belief that the use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, even in situations where it might be strategically advantageous. This concept was brought into sharp focus by recent conflicts. In June, the US and Israel attacked Iran to destroy its nuclear weapons development programme. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, which found itself less able to defend itself because it had given up its nuclear capabilities decades ago. Professor Happymon Jacob, who teaches nuclear disarmament at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, pointed out that while the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons remains, the taboo against the possession of nuclear weapons appears to be collapsing. 'Ukrainians would say we made a mistake in giving up our nuclear weapons,' he said at the same panel. 'The Russians will tell you that we have nuclear weapons, thousands of them. There is no way we are going to be defeated in this war.' He noted how South Korea, faced with the threat of nuclear-armed North Korea, is also thinking about developing nuclear weapons. - The Straits Times/ANN
Barnama
2 hours ago
- Barnama
UNRWA Chief Warns Of 'Project To Separate Palestinians From Palestine' Amid Deepening Gaza Crisis
GENEVA, June 26 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees warned on Thursday that Palestinians are facing a deliberate effort to strip them of their homeland as humanitarian conditions deteriorate across Gaza and the region, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. "We are witnessing the implementation of a project to separate Palestinians from Palestine," Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X, following his remarks to the agency's Advisory Commission. "In Gaza, the culmination of 20+ months of inaction and impunity meant that desperate people are being starved, humiliated, and degraded. They are concentrated in ghetto-like hubs from which they are likely to be further displaced," he said. bootstrap slideshow Speaking to members of the commission on Wednesday, Lazzarini described the situation as "obscene," pointing to how food and medical supplies "sit across the border" while over two million people suffer. "A so-called 'aid mechanism' has been created to replace the principled international aid operation led by the United Nations, of which UNRWA is a critical part," he said. "The new mechanism is an abomination that costs lives," he added, referring to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is run by Israel and where a series of deadly incidents took place. He noted that nearly 320 UNRWA personnel have been killed in Gaza since the conflict escalated, and one staff member was "summarily executed while on duty for the United Nations and found near the infamous mass grave of Palestinian paramedics." In the occupied West Bank, Lazzarini said, "annexation is well under way," citing severe movement restrictions, settler violence, and the recent closure of UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem that left nearly 550 students without alternatives. "Denying children an education is not only inhumane, it is illegal," he stated. Lazzarini warned: "We are at a tipping point threatening to permanently shift long-established parameters for peace," and that the attacks on UNRWA are part of a broader objective "to undermine the viability of a Palestinian State and to strip Palestinians of their refugee status."
