Park Hong-keun calls budget season 'golden time' for policy push

Park Hong-keun, minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, said Friday that the current moment — as the ministry moves into full gear on budget drafting and long-term strategic planning — represents both an "opportunity" and a "golden time" to demonstrate what the ministry can do.

Park made the remarks at the sixth expanded senior staff meeting at the Government Complex Sejong on Friday, noting that June marks the midpoint of the year and coincides with the conclusion of local elections, the launch of the second half of the 22nd National Assembly, and the first anniversary of the current administration.

He directed officials to develop detailed implementation roadmaps — grounded in specific execution plans — for the ministry's core agenda items, including establishing a mid-to-long-term national development strategy, carrying out expenditure restructuring, and strengthening strategic resource allocation.

Park also announced plans to integrate AI across all stages of ministry operations. The move aims to reduce staff workload and free employees to focus on higher-priority tasks, boosting the organization's overall competitiveness. He particularly urged senior officials to lead by example by participating in AI training and working to build the ministry's AI capabilities.

With the selection of proactive civil servants for the first half of the year currently underway, Park stressed the importance of bold administration in delivering policy results. "Performance achieved through proactive administration will be rewarded without fail," he said, directing senior officials to take the lead in encouraging such an approach across the ministry.

Before the meeting, the ministry held a commendation ceremony for staff who successfully introduced and embedded its first-ever integrated fiscal project performance evaluation this year — an effort that identified a record number of projects for expenditure restructuring. Three employees recognized for exceptional contributions each received a commendation and a policy excellence award of 1 million won (approximately $655).