Analysis of the First Installment of the Supplementary Budget Bill for 2022

Published on Feb. 4, 2022
Published by Budget Analysis Coordination Division

   The government sent its “First Installment of the Supplementary Budget Bill for 2022” to the National Assembly on Jan., 24. The supplementary budget bill was submitted in January for the first time since 1951, and the purpose of early submission of the supplementary budget bill is to support small businesses affected by the extended quarantine measures and to respond to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant, etc.
   The increase in the total expenditure of the supplementary budget bill is 14 trillion won, and it is limited to lending support for small businesses and reinforcement of quarantine measures. The bill consists of three main areas: ① 11.5 trillion won in support for small businesses, such as loss compensation for those who have suffered serious business losses due to quarantine measures, and quarantine subsidies that broadly support industries that are not eligible for loss compensation, such as travel and lodging businesses, ② 1.5 trillion won to reinforce quarantine, such as securing additional beds for critically ill patients caused by the prolonged quarantine situation, and to purchase additional oral and injectable treatments in preparation for the spread of the Omicron subvariant, and ③ 1 trillion won to secure additional reserve funds to respond to unforeseen fiscal demands.
   The supplementary budget bill will be sourced from 11.3 trillion won in government bond issuance and 2.7 trillion won in surplus funds from the Public Capital Management Fund. Accordingly, the government debt is estimated to stand at 1,075.7 trillion won, which is 50.1% of GDP, and the consolidated fiscal balance excluding social security funds is expected to increase by 14 trillion won compared to the main budget in 2022.
   The National Assembly Budget Office has published the “Analysis of the First Installment of the Supplementary Budget Bill for 2022” to support the National Assembly's in-depth review of the supplementary budget bill. In the analysis of the fiscal aggregates, the requirements, financial resources and fiscal soundness of the supplementary budget were analyzed, and in the analysis by policy, the sufficiency of financial resources for support for small businesses and quarantine reinforcement programs, and the appropriateness of the reserve fund organization were analyzed in-depth.