Seoul:<Text>
The government announced plans to promptly draft a supplementary budget utilizing excess tax revenue to alleviate the burden on citizens arising from the Middle East conflict, without resorting to issuing additional state bonds. This decision was revealed by Acting Budget Minister Lim Ki-geun during a vice-ministerial interagency meeting, as reported by the Ministry of Planning and Budget. The announcement followed President Lee Jae Myung's directive to prepare an extra budget to address the repercussions of the ongoing regional conflict.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Minister Lim emphasized that the supplementary budget will be formulated using anticipated excess tax revenue to avoid impacting the government bond and foreign exchange markets. The government intends to begin preparations immediately and aims to submit a proposal to the National Assembly as soon as possible.
The proposed extra budget is set to focus on mitigating logistics and fuel costs amid the surge in global oil prices, supporting low-income households, small merchants, farmers, and aiding exporters affected by external shocks. The Ministry of Planning and Budget also plans to engage with state-run research institutes and experts advocating for additional fiscal spending to assess effective support measures.
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