Yoon defends gov't's belt-tightening policy in town hall meeting

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his government's belt-tightening measures as a way to protect ordinary citizens from runaway inflation as he held a town hall meeting in Seoul on Wednesday.

Yoon met with a group of around 60 citizens, including housewives, office workers and small business owners, to talk about public livelihood issues at a book cafe in Seoul's Mapo Ward. The gathering doubled as the 21st session of the emergency economic and public livelihood meeting led by Yoon.

"It really isn't easy being president, because ultimately, it costs money," he said. "Who's going to shoulder that money? If we want to take it from our finances, we can't just increase the budget. If the budget, if government spending increases drastically, prices will rise."

The comments came a day after Yoon delivered a budget speech before the National Assembly, saying he will put top priority on stabilizing prices and people's livelihoods and stick to a sound fiscal policy next year in order not to pass debts on to future generations.

The government's 657 trillion-won (US$487 billion) budget proposal for 2024 is the smallest on-year increase since 2005. The total is only 2.8 percent larger than the 638.7 trillion-won budget for 2023.

Yoon reiterated the need to reallocate the budget in a way that reduces unnecessary spending and more generously supports those in need, but acknowledged the backlash from people who have their benefits taken away.

"I made clear that I will do politics not for elections, but for the people, for those in need," he said of his budget speech. "In any case, I won't blame anyone but listen carefully today with the firm mindset that this is my responsibility as president, and the responsibility of the government that I'm leading."

hague@yna.co.kr
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