The government announced on the 7th that it has executed 74% of the first supplementary budget over the past three months. The second supplementary budget, approved by the National Assembly last month, has also been executed at 53.4%.
Vice Minister Lim Gi-geun of the Ministry of Economy and Finance chaired the 21st inter-agency joint "fiscal execution inspection meeting" at the government complex in Seoul that afternoon to review the execution status of the supplementary budget.
The government initially set a goal of executing more than 70% (840 billion won) of the first supplementary budget by the end of July. According to the government, the executed amount of the first supplementary budget as of the end of last month was 880 billion won, exceeding the target by 4 percentage points.
The government allocated 600 billion won from the disaster and calamity response budget of the first supplementary budget to local governments last May. In June, after a survey of local governments' needs, it provided 92.5% of the regional love gift certificates (400 billion won), and last month it began issuing credits to alleviate the burden of public utility costs for small business owners.
Vice Minister Lim noted, "While the inspection period for the first supplementary budget has ended, I urge the relevant ministries to focus all their efforts on ensuring that there are no cases where the budget is not executed and benefits are not received, aiming for full execution within the year."
The government stated that the second supplementary budget, approved by the National Assembly on the 4th of last month, is also being executed smoothly. The government has set a target of executing 85% of the second supplementary budget by the end of September, which is 15 percentage points higher than the execution rate target of the first supplementary budget. The government has already commenced execution, with 53.4% executed as of the end of July.
The government has fully allocated the first payment of the consumer recovery coupons to local governments to stimulate consumption. It has also begun distributing 4.5 million movie discount coupons to promote cultural consumption, with plans to distribute accommodation, performance, and exhibition discount coupons in August, and sports facility discount coupons in September. A reimbursement program for the purchase of high-efficiency home appliances is also in preparation, aiming to launch the application system in mid-August.
Vice Minister Lim stated, "The timing of the supplementary budget is key to its value," adding, "I ask that all ministries closely check the progress of each project and resolve any difficulties in the execution process immediately so that the first and second supplementary budgets can effectively serve as a catalyst for stabilizing people's lives and recovering the economy."