It was tallied that last year the government executed 3.155 trillion won from the reserve fund. The execution rate was 83%, the highest since 2020–2022, the period of the COVID-19 response. The reserve fund is the government's emergency cash. It is money set aside to prepare for disasters and other events that could not be anticipated when drafting the budget.
◇ Last year's reserve fund execution, largest since 2013 excluding the COVID-19 response period
On the 15th, ChosunBiz obtained the "Statement of overall reserve fund use for fiscal year 2025" that the government submitted to the National Assembly. It is a document organizing the reserve fund execution amount and execution rate by year.
From 2010 to 2019, the reserve fund execution amount typically ranged from 1 trillion to 2 trillion won (average execution rate 69.22%). But with the onset of COVID-19, the reserve fund execution amount (execution rate) jumped. ▲ 2020: 5.4 trillion won (97.1%) ▲ 2021: 9.3 trillion won (95.6%) ▲ 2022: 4.7 trillion won (85.5%), averaging 6.5 trillion won (92.73%) over the three years.
After the declaration that COVID-19 had ended, the reserve fund execution amount (execution rate) plunged. ▲ 2023: 1.3 trillion won (28.5%) ▲ 2024: 1.6 trillion won (39%), returning to pre-COVID levels.
However, last year's reserve fund execution amount (execution rate) climbed again to 3.155 trillion won (83%). Excluding the COVID-19 period, it was the largest since 2013 (3.9386 trillion won; execution rate 73.8%). In 2013, the reserve fund expenditure was large due to local government tax revenue backfill from the acquisition tax cut and expanded support for free childcare.
◇ 460 billion for the presidential election, 470 billion for free high school education, and 210 billion for national resource fires, etc.
It was found that 65% (2.0478 trillion won) of last year's reserve fund execution was approved after the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration (June 4).
By item, 461.2 billion won (National Election Commission) was used for presidential election-related expenses, and 206.2 billion won (Ministry of the Interior and Safety) for recovery from national resource fires and heavy rain damage. As births exceeded expectations, an additional 308 billion won for parental benefits and child allowances (Ministry of Health and Welfare) was covered by the earmarked reserve fund.
A large amount (467.7 billion won) was also spent as a single program to support free high school education. Free high school education was initially introduced with the government and education offices sharing the burden. It was set to sunset at the end of 2024, with metropolitan and provincial education offices required to shoulder the full cost, but the Democratic Party of Korea extended it, saying local education finances were strained. After the 2025 main budget was finalized, the bill to extend national funding passed, and the expense was covered by the reserve fund.
A total of 688.9 billion won was also spent on support for national security activities of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, building AI power infrastructure, securing advanced technology in the aerospace sector, and emergency responses to global security violations. A National Assembly official said, "The details of the National Intelligence Service's reserve fund execution are not disclosed precisely because they are classified as 'Level 2 secret' for national security."
Some of last year's reserve fund was also used for policy and operational expenditure. These included the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries transfer to Busan (68.8 billion won), operation of the prosecution reform task force under the Office for Government Policy Coordination (4.75 billion won), and shortfalls in counseling stipends at the Korea Fair Trade Commission's consumer counseling center (730 million won).
Meanwhile, because the reserve fund is difficult to subject to prior review by the National Assembly, some noted that its specific use standards and inevitability should have been explained more strictly. When it was the opposition, the Democratic Party of Korea also criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's reserve fund allocations as "something to be taken out and used anytime for any purpose," and called for reserve fund cuts and restraints on increases.
This year's reserve fund grew to a total of 9 trillion won, with 4 trillion won in the main budget and an additional 5 trillion won in the supplementary budget for the Middle East war response as an earmarked reserve. If the execution rate reaches around 80% as last year, more than 7 trillion won of reserve funds could be used this year.