President Lee Jae-myung on the 30th said, regarding the budget for the "Startup for All Project," which the government is pushing with the key goal of "discovering 5,000 startup talents and providing national support," that "in the second half, we could do it by organizing a supplementary budget." Led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the project is an audition-style program in which the state will spend up to 100 billion won from March to December to take responsibility from early startup support to second-chance efforts.
That afternoon at Cheong Wa Dae, at the Strategy Meeting for the National Startup Era, Lee said, "About 100 billion won for once a year seems far too little," adding, "It seems there is no secured budget and it's unclear when a supplementary budget will come, so we can split the spending and handle the second-half portion with a supplementary budget."
Lee asked, "While calling it a 'startup boom' and a 'national startup era,' isn't it possible to do it (only) once a year and have the first cohort start in March, the second in May, and the third in July?" Han Seong-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups (MSS), replied, "We considered such a structure at the planning stage," and added, "If we do it once initially, I think quarterly cycles may be possible." She also said, "That way follow-ups are possible. If you frequently give the experience of short and small failures every three months, they say the startups attempted after two or three tries are the most successful." Lee then responded that the second-half budget could be secured through a supplementary budget.
Lee said, "Some of it could be done as a project by public institutions or public corporations," adding, "There will be various methods, but if it doesn't go well, stopping midway (is the issue)." After receiving a report from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol on plans to create a startup boom, Lee said, "I couldn't really take in the other parts, but that expression 'overflowing'—is that for real? Are you going to do it that way?" and added, "Don't be stingy or dribble it out in tiny bits."
◇ Following culture and arts, remarks continue on the need for a supplementary budget for the delinquent tax management corps
This month alone marks the fifth time Lee has mentioned a "supplementary budget." At a senior secretaries' meeting on the 15th, after receiving a policy briefing on the culture and arts sector, Lee said, "Even if it requires a supplementary budget, we need to restore the foundation of culture and arts to a healthy state." In response to the president's remarks on a supplementary budget, Cheong Wa Dae said, "It was a principled remark emphasizing the need to support the culture and arts community," and added that it had not actually reviewed organizing a supplementary budget.
However, at a Cabinet meeting the next day, Lee said, "There may be an opportunity to organize a supplementary budget going forward," and added, "Review the culture and arts budget carefully at that time." At a town hall meeting in Ulsan on the 23rd, after hearing on-site complaints that support for culture and arts instructors had decreased, Lee said, "If an opportunity for a supplementary budget arises, we will increase it significantly compared to now."
Lee also mentioned the possibility of a supplementary budget for collecting delinquent taxes. At a Cabinet meeting on the 27th, after noting the need to expand staffing for local governments' delinquent tax management corps, Lee said, "I don't know when it will be, but it's not that we won't do a supplementary budget all year," and added, "On the premise of a supplementary budget, please review having the central government provide funds to local governments and later make up for it."