Prime Minister Kim Min-seok vowed on Monday that the government would use taxpayers' money responsibly after the Cabinet approved guidelines for the 2027 budget. The plan emphasizes an expansionary fiscal policy to foster new growth engines, with spending set at 764.4 trillion won ($503 billion), up 5 percent from 728 trillion won this year.
SEOUL, March 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Cabinet approved guidelines for the 2027 budget at an extraordinary meeting on Monday, underscoring an expansionary fiscal policy to foster new growth engines.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok described it as "the first budget fully overseen by the current administration." He vowed to spend taxpayers' hard-earned money properly through what he called an unprecedented restructuring of expenditures and urged the Cabinet to prepare key policies like balanced regional development, economic readiness checks, and safety inspections after the June 3 local elections. "There should be no lapse or negligence of state affairs due to the elections," he said.
The guidelines aim to build a highly innovative economy adapting to shifts like artificial intelligence transformation and to nurture advanced industries as new growth drivers. The government also plans measures to support victims of "jeonse" home rental scams, where tenants provide large returnable deposits instead of monthly rent.
A Korea JoongAng Daily editorial warned of risks from fiscal expansion, including rising national debt to 6.5 quadrillion won last year and mortgage rates exceeding 7 percent in some cases.
