Cheong Wa Dae stated that the Future Response Fund, created using additional tax revenues, was established to "invest in the right places at the right time for responsible fiscal management."

This is a direct refutation of claims raised by some quarters that the fund is a "government slush fund."

A Cheong Wa Dae official emphasized today (the 26th), "(The creation of the Future Response Fund) stemmed from the critical awareness that it is not responsible fiscal management for the government to spend heavily simply because tax revenues are high, or to refrain from spending when revenues are low."

The government revealed its plan to not immediately exhaust the additional and surplus tax revenues generated by the semiconductor market boom, but instead to establish and accumulate the Future Response Fund and strategically invest it in four areas: youth, growth engines, regional development, and educational talent.

In response, the opposition bloc criticized the government's pursuit of the 100-trillion-won Future Response Fund during the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts comprehensive policy sessions, calling it a "slush fund and fiscal trick to evade parliamentary control."

Cheong Wa Dae refuted this, stating, "One of the main purposes of the Future Response Fund is a fiscal stabilization function," adding, "In the event of a deficit in the general account, rather than resorting to irregular fiscal management like in the past, we are clearly stipulating the coverage of general account deficits."

A Cheong Wa Dae official also explained, "We forecast that large-scale, unexpected tax revenues this year will flow in next year," and noted, "We intend to handle the role of public finance and the direction of national debt through the Future Response Fund. It is about breaking away from conventional fiscal management methods."

Furthermore, the official said, "In conjunction with the reorganization of local allocation grants, we need to separately secure financial resources for higher education and lifelong education," and added, "Since this is difficult under the current fiscal structure, we plan to include an 'educational talent account' in the Future Response Fund to prepare for that as well."

Regarding the argument from some that surplus tax revenues should be used to repay national bonds, the official noted, "The opinion that it would be good to (repay) national bonds with increased tax revenues—given that we issue 110 trillion won in national bonds a year to cover deficits—is not entirely wrong," but pointed out, "There is no guarantee that tax revenues will flow in like this the year after next."

The official added, "A manageable level of national debt is inevitable, and rather than issuing new debt to pay off (obligations), as President Lee Jae-myung remarked at a Cabinet meeting, 'If spending 10,000 won today can create 1 million won tomorrow, isn't it appropriate to invest that way?'—it is from this perspective that we intend to create the Future Response Fund."

They also stated that looking at the budget proposal to be released next month, one will be able to see the debt-to-GDP ratio decreasing significantly.