President Lee Jae‑myung pledges semiconductor tax‑surplus investment and safety reforms

South Korean President Lee Jae‑myung told a cabinet meeting that the government will channel the large excess tax revenues generated by the booming semiconductor sector into “future investment” and adopt a more expansionary fiscal stance. He urged ministries to reflect the need for a “national transition” in their budget requests, citing the semiconductor super‑cycle as a "real bullet" for financing strategic projects such as an emerging sovereign‑wealth fund.

Lee also expressed sorrow over the death of a primary‑school student found in the Juwangsan area of North Gyeongsang Province, ordering stronger preventive measures to avoid similar accidents. In the same briefing he highlighted a series of policy actions: improving the stock‑market environment to eliminate a "Korea discount," publishing uniform‑price data to curb collusion, strengthening welfare safety nets for vulnerable households, and tightening heat‑wave labor safety rules. He called for more efficient budget execution, suggesting that better use of funds can deliver the same impact as increasing total spending.