[비즈한국] President Lee Jae-myung announced that the increase in tax revenue resulting from the semiconductor boom, driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) craze, will be used to fund the newly established Future Response Fund. Having confirmed that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will pay over 100 trillion won in taxes this year, he has designated how these funds will be utilized. However, critics argue that the government is neglecting fiscal management at a time when deficit-covering debt—which must be repaid with taxes—is set to exceed 1,000 trillion won for the first time in history.
In his opening remarks at the National Fiscal Strategy Meeting held at the Blue House on July 13, President Lee stated, "Thanks to the massive semiconductor boom triggered by the AI revolution, we expect an unprecedented amount of additional tax revenue," adding, "We will use this large-scale additional revenue as a strategic investment resource for future responses." He further explained, "This additional tax revenue is a precious resource to be used during the 'golden time' when the global hegemony of artificial intelligence is decided. To enhance our economic growth potential and share the benefits with all citizens, we need a strategic investment platform that guarantees bold and continuous investment. The Future Response Fund will perform that function, serving as a stepping stone to achieve a great leap forward with future generations."
Around the time President Lee referred to the taxes from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to be used for the Future Response Fund as "additional tax revenue," government officials have been actively using the term "additional tax revenue" instead of "surplus tax revenue."
The government is using the term "additional tax revenue" because if it were to use the legal term "surplus tax revenue," establishing the Future Response Fund could become difficult. According to the National Finance Act, surplus tax revenue must first be used to settle local shared taxes and local education fiscal grants, and at least 30% of the remaining amount must be contributed to the Public Fund Repayment Fund.
After that, the remaining revenue must be used to repay national debt, and any further remaining funds should be used for sources such as supplementary budgets. There is no legal basis to use it for a Future Response Fund. For this reason, opposition parties and some tax experts point out that using the term "additional tax revenue" is "an act that undermines the principles of the National Finance Act."
The problem is that Korea's fiscal health is on high alert, with deficit-covering debt expected to exceed 1,000 trillion won this year. National debt is classified into financial debt and deficit-covering debt based on its nature. Financial debt is debt that can be repaid on its own without additional resources because there are corresponding assets such as foreign currency assets, whereas deficit-covering debt is debt that has no corresponding assets and requires separate resources to be raised through taxes.
In other words, it is debt that must be repaid with taxes paid by the people. However, according to the National Assembly Budget Office, deficit-covering debt is expected to reach 1,027.9 trillion won this year, breaking through the 1,000 trillion won mark for the first time in history. In particular, considering that the total national debt forecast for this year is 1,413.8 trillion won, the proportion of deficit-covering debt reaches a staggering 72.7%.
Given that the deficit-covering debt was 374.8 trillion won in 2017, it has grown nearly three-fold in 10 years. Also, considering that deficit-covering debt accounted for 57.4% of total national debt at that time, the quality of the debt has also deteriorated. Deficit-covering debt remained in the 300 trillion won range from 2015 to 2018, but it quickly surpassed the 400 trillion and 500 trillion won marks, recording 407.6 trillion won in 2019 and 512.7 trillion won in 2020.
While it stayed in the 500 trillion won range at 597.5 trillion won in 2021, it showed an upward trend of increasing by about 100 trillion won every year, reaching 676 trillion won in 2022, 726.4 trillion won in 2023, 815.4 trillion won in 2024, and 924.8 trillion won in 2025, and it was expected to exceed the 1,000 trillion won mark this year.
The proportion of deficit-covering debt has also been worsening day by day, surpassing the 60% mark in 2020 at 60.6% and breaking through the 70% mark last year at 71.0%, five years later.