Next year's budget has been finalized at 673 trillion won, 4.1 trillion won less than the government's proposal. An 'expense reduction budget' processed solely by the opposition party passed through the National Assembly's plenary session after budget negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition failed to reach an agreement. As budget increases are limited to government authority, the opposition party drew up the budget for the next year by only reducing expenditures.
The total revenue of the budget bill that passed the National Assembly on this day was adjusted to 651.6 trillion won, a reduction of 2 trillion won, reflecting a decrease in non-tax revenue. As the total expenditure size was adjusted more than total revenue, the deficit in the consolidated fiscal balance without social security fund and government debt decreased. However, these indicators may deteriorate with the formulation of a supplementary budget in the future.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced on the 10th that the '2025 budget bill and fund operation plan' with these details were approved and finalized in the National Assembly's plenary session. The amendment to the 2025 budget bill passed the plenary session with 183 in favor, 94 against, and 1 abstention out of 278 present out of 300 in total.
The total expenditure was finalized at 673 trillion won, a reduction of 4.1 trillion won from the government's budget proposal (677.4 trillion won). Although the opposition expressed a position to increase the expenditure reduction size to 4.8 trillion won as the political situation gained momentum, it was ultimately concluded with a 4.1 trillion won reduction.
Looking at the 12 major resource sectors, expenditure cuts were implemented across all areas. The largest cut was in general and local administration (-600 billion won), followed by defense (-300 billion won) and health, welfare, and employment (-300 billion won). Budgets for culture, sports, and tourism (-100 billion won); research and development (R&D, -100 billion won); industry, small and medium enterprises, and energy (-100 billion won); diplomacy and unification (-100 billion won); and public order and safety (-100 billion won) were also reduced. Although the education, environment, SOC (social overhead capital), and the agriculture, forest, livestock, and food sectors saw reductions below 100 billion won, there were still cuts.
The total revenue is 651.6 trillion won, adjusted by approximately 200 billion won from the government's proposal (651.8 trillion won). An official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance noted, 'There were some changes in national tax revenue, but the total amount was maintained, and there was a factor of reduction in non-tax revenue,' adding that, 'The reduction in revenue amounts to 259.8 billion won, but due to rounding to the nearest hundred billion, the table shows a reduction of 300 billion won.'
The deficit in the consolidated fiscal balance without social security fund, which shows the government's actual fiscal situation, was modified to 73.9 trillion won. This is an improvement of 3.8 trillion won compared to the government's proposal (-77.7 trillion won) because the expenditure cut was larger than the revenue cut. The deficit ratio of the consolidated fiscal balance without social security fund to GDP also improved from 2.9% to 2.8%.
The government debt stands at 1,273.3 trillion won, a reduction of 3.7 trillion won compared to the government's proposal (1,277 trillion won). The ratio of government debt to GDP was also slightly adjusted downward from 48.3% to 48.1%.
The government stated, 'We will fully prepare for budget execution to ensure stability in people's livelihoods and respond to external uncertainties,' and added that 'Once the fiscal year begins, the funds will be executed as swiftly as possible.'