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Meeting with the Standing Committee on Budget of the National Assembly of Mongolia The National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) hosted a delegation from Mongolia’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Budget on Thursday, February 6th. The meeting brought together key figures to discuss strengthening parliamentary oversight of public finances.Led by Chairman Ts. Davaasuren and MP J. Batjargal, the 12-member Mongolian delegation met with NABO Chief Dong-ha Chi and Assistant Chief for Planning and Management Seunghwan Chong.The discussions focues on several critical areas, including maintaining the independence of parliamentary budget organizations, improving the National Assembly’s review process for budgets and settlements, and implementing effective fiscal rules.Chairman Davaasuren noted that the timing of the visit was particularly valuable, as Mongolia is currently planning to reorganize its parliamentary budget organization. He expressed enthusiasm for continued collaboration between the two institutions. 2025-02-06
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NABO Hosts First 2025 Meeting of Journal of Budget and Policy’s the 7th Editorial Board The National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) held its first 2025 meeting of the 7th Editorial Board for the Journal of Budget and Policy on Thursday, January 16.The editorial board oversees review and editing for NABO’s academic journal. Led by Professor Byungho Choi of Pusan National University’s Economic Department, the 7th board consists of 20 experts across disciplines.Twelve board members attended, including NABO Chief Dongha Chi and Chairman Choi. Two new members joined: Sunghoon Kang (Hanyang University) and Taewan Kim (Korea Institute for Health and Social Research). The meeting covered 2024 journal activities and quality improvement measures.Chairman Choi noted the journal’s status as an authority in national finance and economics, emphasizing the need to expand contributor base and strengthen its position as Korea’s leading fiscal publication.[The 7th Editorial Board Member List (20 members in random order)]Professor Byungho Choi, Pusan National University (Chairperson)Professor Youngrok Kim, Kangwon National UniversityAssociate Professor Byungjo Kim, Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National UniversityProfessor Bonghwan Kim, Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National UnivertiyProfessor Deokhyun Ryu, Chung-Ang UniversityProfessor Cheol Liu, KDI School of Public Policy and ManagementProfessor Hun Park, University of SeoulProfessor Sukha Shin, Sookmyung Women's UniversityProfessor Youngmin Oh, Dongguk UniversityResearch Fellow Jonghyeon Oh, Korea Institute of Public FinanceProfessor Seungwon Yu, Korea National Police University,Professor Dongkyu Lee, Dong-A UniversityAssistant Professor Eunmi Lee, Kookmin UniversityProfessor Sangsoo Lim, Chosun UniversityProfessor Seunghoon Jeon, Daegu UniversityProfessor Jongpil Chung, Local Government Officials Development InstituteProfessor Youngjun Choi, Yonsei UniversityProfessor Sunghoon Kim, Hanyang UniversitySenior Researcher Fellow Taewan Kim, Korea Institute for Health and Social ResearchTax Analysis Counsel Hyejeong Shim, National Assembly Budget OfficeThe Journal of Budget and Policy, published quarterly by NABO, accepts submissions of theoretical and policy papers on finance, economics, taxation, and public policy through their online portal (https://nabo.jams.or.kr). 2025-01-16
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Working Meeting with OECD Head of Budgeting and Public Expenditures Division On Friday, November 22, the National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) held a working meeting with Mr. Jón R. Blöndal, Head of Budgeting and Public Expenditures Division at the OECD.During the meeting, NABO and the OECD shared updates on their major projects and engaged in discussions about global public finance and economic outlook, with a specific focus on Korea. They also reviewed the schedule and topics for the 17th Annual Meeting of the OECD Working Party for Independent Fiscal Institutions (IFIs) and Parliamentary Budget Officials (PBOs), which NABO attends annually, as well as the schedule and agenda for next year's Asian Network of PBOs meeting, which is jointly organized by NABO and the OECD.NABO’s Chief Chi expressed gratitude to Mr. Jón R. Blöndal for his significant contributions to exchanges and cooperation between NABO and the OECD. In response, Mr. Blöndal acknowledged NABO's co-chairmanship of the Asian Network of PBOs, praising its role in bridging OECD and non-OECD countries in the region, and expressed his enthusiasm for continued close collaboration with NABO in the future. 2024-11-22
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NABO Holds Annual Consultation with AMRO The National Assembly Budget Office (Chief Dongha Chi) held its annual consultation with the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) on Thursday, November 21. AMRO is an international organization headquartered in Singapore, comprising ten ASEAN nations (Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines), along with Korea, China, and Japan. The organization focuses on macroeconomic monitoring and crisis prevention in the region and conducts annual consultations with member countries to review their fiscal and economic trends.Kyungyeop Baek, Director of Tax Analysis Division 2 of the NABO, and Sumio Ishikawa, Mission Chief, led the meeting. The consultation covered several key topics. including Korea`s revenue deficit and response measures, major tax law amendments for 2024, revenue projections for 2025, national and public corporation debt issues, and the government`s pension reform plan. The AMRO mission team emphasized the importance of establishing preliminary guidelines for addressing revenue deficits, while NABO acknowledged that certain procedures, including consultation with the National Assembly, should be part of the government`s response to such deficits.AMRO Mission Chief Sumio Ishikawa expressed gratitude for the valuable insights provided by NABO`s experts on Korea`s economic issues and voiced his commitment to strengthening future collaboration and exchanges between the two institutions. 2024-11-21
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NABO Conducts Annual Consultation with the IMF The National Assembly Budget Office (Chief Dongha Chi) held its annual consultative meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday, November 14, in compliance with Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. This annual consultation process is a standard procedure through which the IMF engages with member countries to discuss broader economic matters, including macroeconomic, foreign exchange, and financial issues.The meeting was attended by Hyejeong Sim, Tax Analysis Counsel at NABO, and Mr. Rahul Anand, Mission Chief for Korea at the IMF among others.NABO and the IMF had in-depth discussions on short-term financial issues such as Korea's fiscal outlook, tax revenue deficit, and the direction of the 2025 budget, as well as long-term financial issues such as fiscal rules and pension reform, health insurance and pension financial prospects, and tax revenue expansion.NABO and the IMF exchanged detailed opinions on the government's tax deficit and its underlying causes, discrepancies between the government and NABO’s forecast on the managed fiscal balance, the need for tax base expansion and spending restructuring, and the government's pension reform plan.Upon the meeting’s conclusion, Mr. Rahul Anand, leading the mission team, expressed satisfaction with the substantive discussions. He highlighted the value of hearing diverse expert perspectives from NABO regarding Korea’s fiscal situation and emphasized his hope for continued dialogue and communication in future consultations. 2024-11-14
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NABO Holds the Grand Debate on the 2024 Tax Reform Proposals The National Assembly Budget Office (Chief Dongha Chi) convened the Grand Debate on the 2024 Tax Reform Proposals on Friday, November 8th at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 1 of the Members’ Office Building. The event was specifically designed to discuss major issues and improvement tasks related to tax reform proposals.In his opening remarks, Chief Dongha Chi emphasized the critical role of tax policy in rejuvenating the Korean economy and establishment a stable fiscal base. He expressed hope that the debate would serve as a constructive platform for exchanging in-depth opinions on tax reform proposals and identifying optimal policy directions.National Assembly Speaker Wonshik Woo, through a written encouragement speech, highlighted the significance of the tax reform proposals. He stressed that tax revenue serves as a crucial funding source for government policies and expressed his desire that the public’s voice would be faithfully reflected in the legislative process. This sentiment was particularly noteworthy as vice chair-people from both the ruling and opposition parties of the Strategy and Finance Committee participated as discussants.Rep. Eon-seok Song, chairman of the Strategy and Finance Committee, delivered a congratulatory speech addressing the pressing social structural challenges facing Korea, includinglow birth rates, an aging population, and the ongoing regtional extinction crisis. He emphasized the necessity of developing market-oriented solutions to boost both the economy and people`s livelihoods. As committee chairman, he pledged to diligently review tax reform proposals to establish a more reasonable tax system.The debate was moderated by Professor Jungsoo Park from the Department of Public Administration at Ewha Womans University. Presentations were delivered byJeonghoon Jeong, Deputy Minister of Tax and Customs for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Jiwon Sang, Assistant Chief for Estimation and Tax Analysis at NABO. The discussion panel included Vice Chairpeople of Strategy and Finance Committee, Democratic Party Rep. Tae-ho Jung and People Power Party Rep. Soo-young Park; Rebuilding Korea Party Rep. Gyu-geun Cha, Member of the Strategy and Finance Committee; New Reform Party Rep. Ha-ram Chun, Member of the Strategy and Finance Committee; Professor Hyun-dong Kim from the Department of Business Administration at Pai Chai University; and Professor Woo-chul Kim from the Department of Tax Administration at University of Seoul.Concluding the event, Chief Chi expressed his expectation that the diverse opinions raised during the Grand Debate on 2024 Tax Reform Proposals would prove instrumental in the subsequent deliberations on tax law amendments at the National Assembly. 2024-11-08
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NABO Holds Grand Debate on the 2025 Budget Bill The National Assembly Budget Office (NABO, Chief Dong-ha Chi) held its Grand Debate on the 2025 Budget Bill on Tuesday, November 5, at 10 am in Conference Room 1 of the National Assembly Members’ Building. The debate aimed to establish proper directions for the National Assembly’s examination of the government’s budget proposal.In his opening remarks, Chief Chi expressed his expectations for the debate to highlight key issues for upcoming budget deliberations and to clarify the directions for both ruling and opposition parties. He emphasized the importance of gathering diverse perspectives on fiscal policy for stabilizing people’s lives, evaluating the effectiveness of major fiscal projects, and ensuring fiscal soundness to explore constructive alternatives for next year's national finances. Speaker Won-shik Woo, in his written address, highlighted three critical challenges: the population crisis, rural extinction crisis, and climate crisis. He emphasized the necessity of establishing a sustainable virtuous cycle by expanding the tax base to meet growing expenditure needs, while ensuring sophisticated tax revenue estimates to overcome these national crises. Speaker Woo called upon both ruling and opposition parties to take responsibility and make special efforts that meet public expectations in this first budget deliberation of the 22nd National Assembly.Jung Park, chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, acknowledged the challenging economic and fiscal conditions but stressed the crucial role of finance. He pledged that the committee, through budget deliberations beginning on the 7th, would work diligently to minimize fiscal waste and effectively reallocate the saved resources to areas critical for stabilizing people’s lives and strengthening national competitiveness. The debate was moderated by Professor Yoon-hee Won of the University of Seoul. Presentations were delivered by Dong-il Kim, Deputy Minister for the Budget Office of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Kyung-ho Kim, Assistant Chief for Budget Analysis at NABO. The discussions panel included Professor Deok-hyun Ryu of Chung-Ang University and Professor Byung-hoon Seok of Ewha Womans University. In conclusion, Chief Chi expressed he hopes that the insights from this Grand Debate would be effectively utilized in the budget review processby the National Assembly's standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. 2024-11-05
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Chi Dongha Takes Office as 11th Chief of NABO Chi Dongha was formally inaugurated as the 11th Chief of the National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) in a ceremony held on Friday, November 1st, 2024, at the National Assembly Annex Building (Uijeonggwan). His appointment, following an open recruitment process, was approved by the House Steering Committee of the National Assembly on October 31st. On the same day, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik presented him with the official letter of appointment.Chief Chi holds a bachelor`s degree in economics from Seoul National University, where he also earned his master’s degree in public administration. He furthered his education with a master’s degree in economics from Texas A&M University in the United States and complete his doctoral program in science and technology policy at Hanyang University.With a distinguished career spanning 28 years in public service, Chief Chi entered the legislative shpere after passing the 14th legislative examination in 1996. Since then, he has served the National Assembly for 28 years as Planning and Budget Officer at National Assembly Secretariat (NAS); Inspector General of NAS; Assistant Chief for Economic Analysis at NABO; Deputy Chief of Staff for the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee; and Chief of Staff both for the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.During his inauguration address, Chief Chi outlined his vision pledging to “strengthen fiscal aggregates analysis, enhance objectivity and expertise in fiscal forecasting, and reinforce integration between economic analysis and fiscal project evaluation.” He emphasized his commitment to “lead by example in advancing NABO’s development more proactively than ever before.” 2024-11-01
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Meeting with the Special Committee on Budget and Account of the Chungcheongnam-do Council On Tuesday, September 24, the National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) held a meeting with a delegation from the Special Committee on Budget and Account of theChungcheongnam-do Council.The visiting group comprised sixteen members, including Park Jeong-sik, chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Account, and committee member Kim Ki-Seo. Representing NABO were Kim Kyungho, Acting Chief; Chong Seunghwan, Assistant Chief for Planning and Management; Park Joo-yeon, Head of the Planning and Budget Division; and Lee Jong-gu, Head of the Administrative Budget Analysis Division.During the meeting, NABO and the Special Committee shared the experiences and expertise in budget and settlement examinations. They engaged in in-depth discussions on ways to improve the quality of these examinations and agreed to continue working closely together in the future. 2024-09-24
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NABO Meets with French Senate Finance Committee On Tuesday, September 10, the National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) held a meeting with a visiting delegation from the French Senate Finance Committee.The meeting was attended by nine members of the delegation, including President Claude Raynal and Vice-President Thierry Cozic. NABO was represented by Ick Jin, Assistant Chief for Economic Analysis, and Seunghwan Chong, Assistant Chief for Planning and Management.As France does not have an independent parliamentary budget office, the French Finance Committee expressed significant interest in NABO’s role. The committee engaged in in-depth discussions with NABO on various areas, including NABO’s role in the budget review process, cost estimation and revenue estimation operations, and the parliamentary research and analysis system. Both institutions have committed to continuing close collaboration in the future. 2024-09-10