Vehicles are waiting at a checkpoint to pass through the Civilian Control Zone in the inter-Korean border area. © Il Young Jeong Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University Autumn is not only the season of harvest but also a time to prepare for the year ahead. Governments, too, are particularly busy during this period. The regular session of the National Assembly, which opened on September 1, is now preparing for parliamentary audits of government agencies and deliberations on next year’s budget. The government has submitted a proposed budget of 820.9 trillion won for 2027 to the National Assembly. Amid an unprecedented semiconductor boom and rising tax revenues, the government has been seen as taking a proactive approach to fiscal policy, including the establishment of a 160 trillion won fund for responding to future challenges. Against this backdrop, how has the Ministry of Unification’s budget been allocated? This column examines the 2027...
'The Korean Odyssey' introduces various issues on the Korean Peninsula and proposes academic & policy ideas for peace on the Korean Peninsula.