South Korea Plans 10-Trillion-Won Supplementary Budget Financed Without New Bonds, Aiming by April

South Korea’s acting Budget Minister, Im Ki-geun, chaired a morning meeting at the Government Complex Seoul on the Middle East situation and the government’s plan to prepare a supplementary budget quickly.

At the meeting, Im stressed the need to move swiftly to draft a supplementary budget and submit it to the National Assembly as soon as possible, citing heightened global economic uncertainty and the goal of minimizing domestic damage.

The plan foresees a budget in excess of 10 trillion won, with officials hopeful that speeding up the process could bring the supplementary budget to completion by April.

He instructed ministries to thoroughly assess how the Middle East tensions and high oil prices could affect livelihoods and key industries, and to promptly identify projects that would ease logistics and fuel-cost burdens, stabilize livelihoods for households, small businesses, and farmers, and support exporters hit by external shocks.

Im added that the supplementary budget would be financed without issuing new government bonds, using expected excess tax revenue to minimize potential impacts on Korea’s debt and foreign exchange markets.

President Lee Jae-myeong, on the previous day, called for swift fiscal action to protect livelihoods and accelerate economic recovery in times of crisis, urging rapid drafting of a supplementary budget.

The Budget Office said the government would proceed with preparations to minimize the current risks and submit the plan to the National Assembly as quickly as possible.

For U.S. readers, the move matters because Korea—a major global exporter of semiconductors, electronics, and automobiles—faces oil-price–driven inflation and supply-chain pressures tied to Middle East tensions. A fast, debt-light stimulus could help stabilize Korea’s economy and markets, with potential spillovers for global supply chains, trade, and investment. The approach also signals how Seoul may balance fiscal space, market stability, and economic resilience in a volatile energy environment, which is relevant to American policymakers and multinational firms engaged in Korea-U.S. commerce and regional security planning.