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| ▲ In this file photo taken Dec. 30, 2025, Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for head of the newly established Ministry of Planning and Budget, talks to reporters while heading to her office to prepare for her parliamentary confirmation hearing in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
budget minister nominee-meeting
Budget minister nominee meets fiscal management experts amid controversies
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for head of the newly established Ministry of Planning and Budget, held a meeting with academics and researchers Tuesday to gather policy recommendations on future fiscal directions, her confirmation hearing preparation team said.
The meeting brought together six experts specializing in fiscal management, including Kang Byung-koo, an economics professor at Inha University, who shared their views on fiscal operations and policy challenges.
During the meeting, the experts agreed that fiscal policy should play a more proactive role in easing difficulties facing the public amid a period of structural economic transition.
In response, Lee assessed that both domestic and external conditions are facing unprecedented challenges.
She stressed that it is the time for fiscal policy to actively serve as a catalyst to solidify economic recovery, boost potential growth and ease polarization.
"It has been my consistent belief that fiscal policy must faithfully fulfill its role when it is most needed," Lee was quoted as saying.
The meeting came as Lee, a former three-term lawmaker from the conservative bloc, has drawn criticism from both ruling and opposition parties following her surprise nomination by President Lee Jae Myung.
The opposition bloc has urged Lee to step down as suspicions of real estate speculation by her husband emerged, following revelations of her alleged mistreatment of subordinates and an intern while serving as a lawmaker.
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