As the government’s 2027 budget proposal sets a record total spending of 820.9 trillion won, the People Power Party is demanding a 27 trillion won cut and the use of idle money in the Future Response Fund to repay national debt. According to Tax Times, Newstomato and the Korea Social Welfare Journal, the legal deadline is December 2, and responses from the government and ruling party could not be confirmed in this reporting.
Tax Times reports that the Cabinet approved 2027 total spending of 820.9 trillion won on September 1, up 93 trillion won or 12.8% from this year’s original budget and the highest growth rate on record. In its 2026–2030 fiscal plan the government said it would gradually lower spending growth from 2028 to around 5% by 2030.
광고 문의 · 300×250The Future Response Fund and new funding sources
The fund is at the center of the dispute. Tax Times reports that 162.3 trillion won of the 194.2 trillion won rise in tax revenue goes into the fund, of which 45.4 trillion won is invested in four areas: youth, growth engines, regions, and education and talent. The same report cited new accounts such as a 2.6 trillion won semiconductor competitiveness special account and a 1.3 trillion won regional essential healthcare account, plus 38.6 trillion won in discretionary cuts and the scrapping of about 2,100 programs.
The PPP targeted the fund directly. Newstomato reports that leader Jang Dong-hyuk called it a ‘pocket fund the government can spend almost as it likes’, and the party said it would cut about 27 trillion won and reallocate 11.5924 trillion won to five areas including youth, safety and livelihoods. It also demanded that 104.4 trillion won of idle fund money be used entirely to repay national debt.
The numbers behind the youth culture pass
In coverage published on the 6th of the PPP’s floor strategy meeting, the demanded figures changed. The Korea Social Welfare Journal relayed party material arguing that 116.9 trillion won of the fund’s 162.3 trillion won be used for debt repayment and the remaining 45.4 trillion won go through standing-committee budget review. Why this differs from the 104 trillion won range in reports around the 4th could not be confirmed.
The most prominent target is the Culture Ministry’s youth culture pass. MTN reports that the ministry’s budget rises 22.6% to 9.6345 trillion won, while the youth culture arts pass grows from 36.1 billion to 792.5 billion won, widens eligibility from ages 19–20 to 19–34 and adds sports. The PPP calls it vote-buying spending; its cited growth of 2,200% works out to about 2,095% using the reported amounts, a discrepancy.
Parliamentary review now decides the outcome. The Democratic Party has signaled plenary sessions on the 12th and 19th for contested bills, while the PPP is weighing a budget-review boycott tied to its special counsel fight. How far the cuts go and how the fund is reshaped should become clear ahead of the December 2 deadline.
