Lawmaker projects 45–W55tr in extra tax revenue this year, W100tr more next year

Rep. Ahn Do-geol of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represents Gwangju's Dong-gu and Nam-gu, urged the government Tuesday to establish a framework for responding to tax revenue fluctuations through amendments to the National Finance Act, and to build a pan-government response system to propel South Korea into the top three AI powers while shifting the overall economic policy paradigm across industry, regulation, finance and fiscal policy.

According to Ahn, a boom in the semiconductor sector and a buoyant stock market are expected to generate 25.2 trillion won ($17.5 billion) in surplus tax revenue this year, with an additional 20 trillion to 30 trillion won in extra receipts also seen as achievable. He added that national tax revenue next year could exceed the original national fiscal management plan by as much as 100 trillion won.

However, Ahn cautioned that the current National Finance Act contains no explicit provision requiring the government to revise its revenue budget when large-scale tax fluctuations occur. "There is a structural limitation in which the government cannot respond in a timely manner to either a tax shortfall or a surplus," he said.

To address this, Ahn proposed amending the National Finance Act to make a supplementary revenue budget mandatory whenever tax revenue deviates beyond a certain threshold, and to create a future response fund that would set aside a portion of surplus tax receipts for use during periods of shortfall. He said the accumulated funds should be channeled into national strategic projects, including expanding future growth engines, narrowing the wealth and income gap, and promoting balanced regional development.

Meanwhile, Ahn characterized the current economic environment as a "phase of structural growth driven by the AI revolution" and called for a paradigm shift in economic policy to position South Korea among the world's top three AI powers. "In the first half of this year, the Korean economy posted record-level results across the board — in growth, exports and the current account balance," he said. "This is not a simple business cycle but a structural growth phase led by the AI revolution, and a historic opportunity for South Korea to achieve a great economic leap forward."

Ahn proposed a "paradigm shift in industrial, regulatory, financial and fiscal policy" to achieve that goal. On industrial policy, he argued the government must go beyond deregulation and tax incentives to proactively secure key infrastructure — including power and water supply — on schedule and actively foster the ecosystem for future industries.

On regulation, Ahn called for a shift from a positive-list system to a negative-list system, and urged the swift introduction of a special mega-zone law to nurture new industries tailored to each region. On financial policy, he said bold innovation was needed — including the creation of a massive national AI venture capital fund jointly operated by state-owned and private banks — to ensure the success of what he called the AI triangle mega-project covering semiconductors, physical AI and data centers.

On fiscal policy, Ahn stressed that the government should move beyond short-term fiscal consolidation. "Fiscal management must shift to an offensive and preemptive approach to build the core infrastructure needed for the great AI transformation," he said.