[Anchor]
President Lee Jae-myung has presided over a cabinet meeting to deliberate next year's budget bill, which is scaled at over 800 trillion won plus alpha. Emphasizing that a productive fiscal strategy is essential for rebounding economic growth, President Lee expressed hope for broad-minded cooperation from the political sphere.
Reporter Kang Cheongwan has the details.
[Reporter]
The cabinet meeting to deliberate the budget bill for next year, amounting to over 800 trillion won plus alpha, was held this morning at the Blue House.
President Lee stated that next year's budget bill should serve as a solid stepping stone to leapfrog South Korea into a super-gap leading nation and act as a prime mover for the people's livelihoods.
He went on to say that South Korea's economy stands at a crossroads between the entrenchment of low growth and a rebound in potential growth rate, highlighting the necessity of expansionary fiscal policy to drive economic growth.
[President Lee Jae-myung: A productive virtuous-cycle fiscal strategy that enlarges the economic pie, advances industrial capabilities, and consequently expands fiscal capacity is urgently needed.]
President Lee noted, "The current rise in interest rates is unavoidable," adding, "Fiscal policy must take on a sophisticated division of roles to minimize the pain caused by rising interest rates."
In particular, he instructed, "If the National Assembly gathers public opinion during the budget review process to supplement necessary parts, the government should actively respect that," while calling on political circles for bipartisan cooperation to pass the budget bill.
[President Lee Jae-myung: I look forward to broad-minded cooperation from the political sector so that this budget bill can create hope for all citizens that tomorrow will be better than today.]
President Lee also mentioned that while forecasts of South Korea's economic growth rate exceeding 3% this year are materializing thanks to surging exports, livelihoods on the ground remain difficult. He ordered measures to manage grocery prices through agricultural, livestock, and fishery product discounts and expanded supply of stockpiled goods.
(Camera, Ha Ryong and Yoon Hyung; Video Editing, Nam Il)
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