South Korea to unveil 800 trillion won+ budget next week

South Korea is expected to unveil a massive government budget exceeding 800 trillion won next week. Driven by record tax revenues from the semiconductor boom, the budget may include the establishment of a ‘Future Response Fund’—potentially exceeding 100 trillion won—to manage tax fluctuations and long-term investments. Additionally, the government plans to reform the local education finance grant system to reflect economic growth and demographic changes.

Alongside the budget, several key economic indicators will be released. The Bank of Korea will publish July’s provisional balance of payments, following a record-breaking first-half current account surplus of $191.01 billion. Foreign exchange reserves for late August will also be disclosed.

Other significant upcoming data includes July’s industrial activity trends and August’s consumer price index. On the regulatory front, the Financial Services Commission is scheduled to hold a meeting regarding credit evaluation for small business owners and announce plans for a second test to ease network separation regulations to facilitate the use of AI for security purposes.