President Moon Jae-in has emphasized the need to earmark a significant budget next year to deal with a pandemic-induced contingency. 

According to Presidential Spokesperson Park Kyung-mee on Friday, Moon said in a meeting with Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki earlier in the day that the government should allocate sufficient funds to help overcome the crisis, while maintaining a balance between fiscal expansion and budgetary prudence.

Moon in particular stressed expenses on COVID-19 vaccine, saying that although the budget appears to allocate sufficient funds toward the shots, the government should consider additions to account for unanticipated factors including the possibility of the emergence of new strains or an adjustment to the vaccination age limit that may expand inoculation for those under 18 years of age. 

He also said the government needs to expand the budget to better reflect the nation’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and to offer assistance for small businesses, childcare, scholarships and supplies of electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles. 

During the meeting, Minister Hong reported to the president that the draft for next year’s budget focuses on major priorities including a complete recovery from the COVID-19 crisis as well as assisting key state projects.