President Lee Jae Myung stated at a press briefing marking his first anniversary in office, “Using the expected large-scale surplus tax revenue from the semiconductor boom merely for fiscal spending like ordinary tax revenue or reducing the national debt ratio is the most foolish thing to do,” adding that the funds would be fully focused on future-oriented long-term investments to boost South Korea’s potential growth rate.
The president dismissed claims that surplus tax revenue should prioritize repaying national debt as “one of the most foolish acts.” He emphasized, “The value of 1 trillion Korean won today and 1 trillion Korean won in 10 years cannot be compared. If the present value is higher, it should be spent now; if the future value is higher, it should be spent later. That is the basic principle of policy.”
Highlighting the structural crisis South Korea faces—a plummeting potential growth rate—the president strongly questioned the effectiveness of debt repayment. He noted, “The nation’s potential growth rate has fallen by 1% per administration and is already calculated to drop below 1.5%. Raising this rate is a critical task, but does repaying debt increase this number? It does not.”
Regarding the attitude of spending based solely on fiscal balance, he stated, “Policy should consider tough times when conditions are good and anticipate improvement during hardships. Spending more when revenue is high and less when it is low is abandoning the role of fiscal policy and a foolish act.”
President Lee identified the core use of surplus tax revenue as “future investments to enhance South Korea’s growth potential.” Since surplus tax revenue is a volatile resource that may disappear depending on economic fluctuations, it should be injected into building sustainable future growth engines, he argued.
Specific investment directions include discovering core new growth engines like semiconductors and providing opportunities for the younger generation. The president said, “We will make bold investments in areas where the private sector hesitates but are essential for the nation. Even if there are no immediate returns, we will plant high-value trees and cultivate forests with the mindset that our descendants can use them in 30, 50, or 100 years, committing to long-term investments.”
- 월 5900원 멤버십, 신문 독자에게는 2900원, 조선멤버십
- 55000원 상당의 신문-잡지 8종 마음껏 보기, 조선멤버십
- 현금처럼 쓸 7000포인트 받아 알뜰한 쇼핑, 조선멤버십
