Lee Jae Myung makes first parliamentary speech for extra budget push
President Lee Jae Myung stressed the need for the government's 30.5 trillion won ($22.4 billion) extra budget proposal, including plans to dole out cash-equivalent coupons to every South Korean citizen, to revive the domestic economy amid fears of recession.
In his first parliamentary speech, Lee said fiscal stimulus is the only measure a government can take to combat an economic crisis and called for bipartisan support for the spending. Lee took office on June 4, immediately after his election victory.
"The reason why the government that came into being without a transition team rushed to come up with the extra budget plan is that the economy is in a dire situation," Lee said. "Fiscal austerity at a time of economic crisis might be a neglect (of the government's responsibility), denying the government's existence."
At the parliament, Lee proposed 13 trillion won worth of universal cash grants, which would amount to between 150,000 won and 520,000 won depending on an individual's income level. Lee also suggested an additional budget of 3.9 trillion won to stimulate the investment in infrastructure, construction, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and startups. Also, 5 trillion won will be spent on debt write-offs for some 1.1 million people who are unable to repay debts and on job security measures.
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