At a Cabinet meeting on September 1, 2026, the government approved its 2027 budget bill and the 2026–2030 National Fiscal Management Plan. Total spending in the government’s 2027 budget bill is ₩820.9 trillion, an increase of 12.8% from this year’s initial budget.
Key Changes
The budget bill includes plans to establish a Future Response Fund using additional tax revenue, along with investments in future growth sectors such as AI and semiconductors.
- The government plans to establish the Future Response Fund using ₩162.3 trillion in additional tax revenue above the trend line for domestic taxes over the past 10 years.
- Of the Future Response Fund, ₩45.4 trillion will be invested in youth, growth engines, regional development, education, and talent, while ₩12.5 trillion will be used to reduce the volume of newly issued government bonds.
- ₩21.3 trillion has been allocated to the three mega-projects and AI support, a 97.2% increase from the previous year.
The Ministry of Science and ICT’s 2027 budget bill totals ₩29.6 trillion, including ₩942.11 billion allocated to AI.
The key point of this announcement is not only the total budget, but also the separate presentation of future investment resources covering AI and semiconductors alongside youth, regional, and education initiatives.
Current Status
The ₩820.9 trillion figure is the government’s budget bill approved by the Cabinet. The amounts and program details may change during the National Assembly’s review and approval process, so it should not be described as the final approved budget.
The National Growth Fund also needs to be viewed separately. The Financial Services Commission plans to increase the fund’s five-year supply target from ₩150 trillion to ₩200 trillion and expand eligible sectors to include future strategic industries such as aerospace. This ₩200 trillion is a five-year supply target, not a budget for 2027 alone.
The Financial Services Commission allocated ₩1.055 trillion in the 2027 fiscal-year budget bill for projects aimed at strengthening future growth potential through the National Growth Fund and other programs. This is the total for related programs and does not represent the amount of support for any specific company.
Execution and approval figures for the National Growth Fund are also different concepts. According to the Financial Services Commission, ₩4.1 trillion had been disbursed by the end of July 2026, while ₩16.3 trillion in support had been approved for 23 cases.
Impact
Under the government’s budget bill, support for AI, semiconductors, and the three mega-projects will increase, while the National Growth Fund’s medium- and long-term supply target and eligible sectors will also expand. The fund has previously presented plans to invest ₩10 trillion in AI and semiconductors this year and ₩50 trillion over the next five years.
However, the following distinctions should be checked when interpreting the announced figures.
- Determine whether ₩820.9 trillion refers to the government proposal or the final amount approved after review and approval by the National Assembly.
- Do not confuse the full ₩162.3 trillion Future Response Fund with the planned investments in individual sectors.
- The ₩200 trillion National Growth Fund figure is a five-year supply target and is not the same as the ₩1.055 trillion in related funding in the 2027 fiscal-year budget bill.
- The ₩4.1 trillion disbursed and ₩16.3 trillion approved for support are different indicators.
Next Checkpoint
The government said it plans to submit the 2027 budget bill to the National Assembly on September 3, 2026. The final details will become clear only after reviewing how the budget total and individual programs are adjusted during the National Assembly’s deliberations and approval process.
Source Verification
- Ministry of Budget and Planning · Korea Policy Briefing, “Next Year’s Budget Bill at ₩820.9 Trillion, the Largest Ever… ₩162 Trillion Future Response Fund to Be Established,” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://www.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=148970973
- Ministry of Budget and Planning · Korea Policy Briefing, “Future Response Fund to Be Established for Proactive Investment in Youth, Growth Engines, Regional Development, and Education,” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://admin.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=148970426
- Financial Services Commission · Korea Policy Briefing, “National Growth Fund Expanded to ₩200 Trillion… Support Extended to Future Strategic Industries Including Aerospace,” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://www.korea.kr/news/policyFocusView.do?newsId=148968206&pWise=main&pWiseMain=F2&pkgId=49500844
- Financial Services Commission · Korea Policy Briefing, “Next Year’s FSC Budget Doubles… Support for Growth Potential, Low-Income Households, and Youth,” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://www.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=148970984
- Financial Services Commission · Korea Policy Briefing, “National Growth Fund Being Implemented at Speed, with More Than ₩4 Trillion Disbursed by the End of July,” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://www.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=148970931
- Financial Services Commission, “FSC and MSIT Join Forces to Foster a ‘K-NVIDIA,’” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://www.fsc.go.kr/no010101/86474
- Ministry of Science and ICT · Korea Policy Briefing, “AI Services to Be Supported for Everyone… MSIT’s Budget Next Year Reaches ₩29.6 Trillion,” checked September 2, 2026, 01:05 UTC: https://www.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=148971010