Park Hong-geun, the inaugural Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, said, "Public finance should not be a treasure stored up in the granary, but a living energy that delivers warmth to every capillary of our economy."
The Minister said in an inaugural address on the 25th, "I will establish the foundation for 'sustainable active finance,'" and added, "I will fundamentally shift the paradigm of fiscal management so we can inject new vitality into people's livelihoods and the economy."
He added, "To that end, the public must be able to know transparently how the budget is used and have a real voice in the budget process," and said, "The Ministry of Planning and Budget will not be a 'granary keeper' wielding authority, but a place that thinks and cooperates with other ministries, the National Assembly, and civil society, grounded in a practical 'top-down budgeting system.'" He continued, "Through across-the-board expenditure restructuring, we will manage thoroughly so that not even 1 won of tax money is wasted."
The Minister also put forward the Ministry of Planning and Budget's role in presenting a future vision. Park said, "We will open the main channel of a 'national future strategy' that fundamentally changes the structure of the Republic of Korea," and added, "We will put down solid roots in the form of a long-term strategy with a 20- to 30-year horizon that will support Korea's future. We will ensure this links organically with the five-year national agenda, the medium-term fiscal plan, and the annual budget."
Park also said, "We will surely achieve changes in people's lives," adding, "We will boldly invest in innovation-led growth to expand the economic pie, and we will create a 'virtuous-cycle ecosystem' in which the results flow into a dense social safety net that becomes the foundation for growth. By building a robust, life-cycle social safety net, we will realize 'growth for all,' where the fruits of innovation are shared evenly."