DP and Government Join Forces to Accelerate Three Major Mega-Projects for Second Half of Year

The Democratic Party of Korea and the government have agreed to pool their capabilities to accelerate the progress of three major mega-projects—semiconductors, data centers, and physical AI—in the second half of this year.
They also announced plans to establish an integrated response system for economic risks and actively address structural issues such as polarization, aiming to make this year the inaugural year of a major economic leap forward.
Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Finance and Economy, introduced the economic growth strategy for the second half of the year, centered on these points, during a party-government consultation held at the National Assembly today (July 13).
Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated that the second-half economic growth strategy has been prepared around six tasks across three major areas: economic strategy following the Middle East war, economic strategy to rebound potential growth rates, and economic strategy to address structural issues such as polarization.
"We will actively push forward with our post-Middle East war strategy," said Deputy Prime Minister Koo. "We will establish an integrated response system to ensure overall market stability, including macroeconomics, finance, foreign exchange markets, and real estate."
He further emphasized, "We will thoroughly manage risks related to inflation, exchange rates, and interest rates. We will support housing stability through measures such as expanding housing supply, while securing K-supply chains and energy independence through strategic economic cooperation."
In particular, he announced that the three major mega-projects currently being prioritized by the government will be implemented swiftly to foster global super-gap growth engines.
Han Byung-do, Acting Representative and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, responded, "As the party has formed a special committee to create a dedicated support system, we will provide robust support in terms of legislation and budget for the three major mega-projects."
Policy Committee Chair Han Jeoung-ae stated, "Strengthening regional-led growth by building growth engines for local economies will also be included in the economic growth strategy for the second half of the year."
Park Hong-keun, Minister of Planning and Budget, added during the consultation, "We will improve the fundamental structure of fiscal health through high-intensity expenditure restructuring. We will also begin full-scale innovation of mandatory expenditures that have been considered untouchable, including the reform of local education grants."
Recently, the government has been accelerating the restructuring of local education grants, citing reasons such as the decline in the school-age population and the need to enhance fiscal efficiency.
In response, the education sector is expressing concerns that the reform of local education grants could undermine the public education safety net that has been in place for decades.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.