The government’s planned Future Response Fund would replace the rigid concept of excess tax revenue with additional tax revenue, allowing funds to be deployed more flexibly and quickly than through a supplementary budget. Under current law, tax collections above the annual budget can be spent through a supplementary budget; otherwise, the surplus is used in order for local subsidy grants, local education finance grants, contributions to the Public Fund Redemption Fund and national debt repayment. That process takes at least three months from drafting and National Assembly approval to actual spending. Additional tax revenue would instead be calculated when the following year’s receipts exceed a 10-year trend line, using the previous year’s final revenue settlement as the benchmark. In the example provided, a 2025 settlement of 100 trillion won and average annual growth of 6.6% would produce a 2027 trend figure of 106.6 trillion won; if next year’s revenue reached 130 trillion won, 23.4 trillion won would qualify as additional tax revenue. Up to 20% of spending could later be redirected without National Assembly approval. The fund is expected to be divided among youth, growth drivers, regions, and education and talent, with its total size to be disclosed when the 2027 budget proposal is announced late this month. Recent semiconductor-driven tax revenue growth and a 20 trillion won reduction in grants suggest the fund could reach at least 100 trillion won. Economists warn that the absence of clear priorities and the ability to alter spending without parliamentary approval could increase discretionary allocation, weaken fiscal oversight and push debt repayment lower on the agenda. National debt was 1,268.1 trillion won last year, up 127 trillion won, while Treasury bond issuance outstanding reached 1,241.6 trillion won at the end of July and the yield on bonds procured in July was 4.07%.