The first supplementary budget proposal of the Lee Jae-myung government has focused more on supporting vulnerable groups compared to the previous supplementary budget. In this year's first supplementary budget, the Ministry of Economy and Finance allocated only 200 billion won to assist vulnerable groups. During the National Assembly discussion process, the amount was increased to 400 billion won, but the Lee Jae-myung government proactively increased support for vulnerable groups, setting the relevant budget at 700 billion won.
On the 19th, the government held a Cabinet meeting and deliberated on the second supplementary budget for 2025. This budget, formulated due to the deepening economic downturn and increasing difficulties for the public, totals 30.5 trillion won, of which the budget for supporting vulnerable groups is 700 billion won.
The government decided to allocate 400 billion won of the 700 billion won for housing support for 'homeless youth and newlyweds.' This marks a difference from the first supplementary budget, which aimed to ease the financial burdens of 'wage-deferred workers' and low-income multi-child household 'university students' under the premise of stabilizing the lives of vulnerable groups.
With this supplementary budget, the government plans to increase the supply of jeonse rental dwellings by 3,000 units through the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH). These dwellings are characterized by being cheaper than market prices, and the final supply quantity due to the supplementary budget will increase from 45,000 units to 48,000 units. The target group is limited to homeless youth and newlyweds.
Additionally, the government plans to expand monthly rent support for low-income youth whose income is below 60% of the median income. The youth monthly rent subsidy, which provides up to 200,000 won per month for 24 months, currently supports 130,000 recipients, and this number will be raised to 157,000.
The remaining 300 billion won will be used for medical and caregiving services. In terms of medical and caregiving, the government will strengthen the emergency transfer and treatment system for high-risk pregnant women. To prevent medical gaps during holidays such as the Lunar New Year and Chuseok, a dedicated team for mothers (consisting of 9 members) will be formed. Local maternal medical centers will also be revitalized.
To prevent suicides, the government will increase support for treatment expenses for high-risk groups. This is in response to remarks made by President Lee Jae-myung during a recent Cabinet meeting pointing out the high suicide rate. The government plans to provide support for treatment expenses for suicide attempt survivors.
For crisis households experiencing temporary difficulties, additional caregiving services will be supplied. Furthermore, the number of support cases for low-income households (those earning below 75% of the median income) will be increased from 331,000 to 358,000.
This supplementary budget also includes victims of illegal private finance among those eligible for support. The government plans to increase the number of cases appointing debt representatives for these individuals from the current 6,000 to 7,000. Additionally, two new personal recovery support centers will be established to provide free litigation representation or support for litigation expenses related to individual recovery and bankruptcy, bringing the total to eight nationwide.
The government plans to submit the supplementary budget proposal, which includes these details, on the 23rd. During the National Assembly discussion process, the budget for specific projects may increase or decrease. The funding sources for the supplementary budget include additional issuance of Government Bonds (19.8 trillion won), expenditure restructuring (5.3 trillion won), foreign exchange stabilization bond issuance (3 trillion won), and available fund assets (2.5 trillion won).