The three officials who oversee South Korea's economic policy — Deputy Prime Minister and Finance and Economy Minister Lee Hyoung-il, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song and Presidential Policy Chief Ha Joon-kyung — held an unannounced meeting on the 26th. The gathering drew attention over whether the heads of the relevant agencies discussed the scale of planned cuts to treasury bond issuance using next year's excess tax revenue, after calls for an agreed-upon standard on the matter.
According to reporting by Seoul Economic Daily, Lee, Shin and Ha met for dinner at a restaurant in Seoul's Jongno District at around 8 p.m. that day. The dinner lasted about an hour. Ha said the three "met and shared a meal as a courtesy."
The meeting has drawn interest because it came as the Lee Jae-myung administration launched the second phase of its presidential office lineup and as the National Assembly conducts its annual audit of government agencies. Business circles believe the officials discussed specific plans for using next year's excess tax revenue in line with the government's push to reduce treasury bond issuance.
The three may have addressed concrete criteria, particularly after lawmakers argued during the parliamentary audit that the impact of reduced bond issuance on the debt market must be taken into account. In drawing up the 2027 budget, the government allocated 12.5 trillion won ($8.7 billion) from its future response fund to curbing treasury bond issuance. This year, it used excess tax revenue to cut 5 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in new issuance in October.
On the 23rd, Budget and Planning Minister Park Hong-keun told a comprehensive parliamentary audit session of the National Assembly's Finance, Economy and Planning Committee that there is "no uniform yardstick for how much further it should be reduced." Shin said that "a certain volume of treasury bonds is necessary for the capital market to function properly," arguing that the role of the bond market must be considered.
Committee Chairman Cho Seung-rae said it was "not appropriate to debate this without grounds or standards" and asked the Bank of Korea, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the budget agency to consult and establish criteria. The dinner is also expected to have covered broader economic issues, including the direction of interest rates, fiscal policy, the exchange rate and management of external risks.