South Korea's 2027 budget rises by a record 12.8%, establishes a “Future Response Fund” to absorb excess semiconductor tax revenue

(1) The South Korean government proposes a fiscal expenditure scale of 820.9 trillion won for 2027, representing a 12.8% increase from this year's budget and setting a new historical record, surpassing the growth rates of 2009 (10.6%) and the COVID-19 period in 2020 (9.1%). (2) The core of the budget is a new "Future Response Fund," which aims to allocate tax revenues exceeding the long-term fiscal income trend level to this fund, rather than using all of them for annual spending, to support strategic investments such as artificial intelligence. (3) The government expects to allocate 162.3 trillion won to this fund, mainly reflecting the amount by which domestic tax revenues are projected to exceed the trend level of the past ten years. Unexpected tax growth from the semiconductor industry will serve as a key funding source.