Publication

Where Does the 93 Trillion Won Increase in the 820 Trillion Won Budget Go?

Total expenditure in the government's 2027 budget proposal is 820.9 trillion won, 93.0 trillion won (12.8%) more than the 2026 original budget, and 69.4 trillion won of the increase comes from funds. National tax revenue is projected to rise by 194.2 trillion won, and the government would use 162.3 trillion won of additional tax revenue to create the Future Response Fund. Grouping detailed programs by name, programs for local allocation tax and education grants, interest on national debt, and pensions and statutory welfare benefits increase by 37.0 trillion won (39.7%), while Future Response Fund programs increase by 32.4 trillion won (34.8%) after netting programs moved from other accounts (calculated values). The Assembly cannot increase spending without the government's consent, and cutting the budget alone does not remove statutory payment obligations. Under current law a non-financial fund may change its main items without an Assembly resolution by up to 20% in principle; the government's amendment would apply 30% per program to the Future Response Fund. The brief asks for a table of changes by detailed program, a reconciliation of programs moved into the fund, an operating plan for the fund's 104.4 trillion won in surplus funds, and region-by-region estimates of the formula changes for local allocation tax and education grants.