South Korea's senior fiscal officials emphasized on Wednesday that excess tax revenue should be used to narrow economic disparities, with specific measures including funding for housing, employment, and economic assistance for low-income families—areas directly affecting people's livelihoods.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il reached a consensus on this view during a macroeconomic issues meeting with Budget Minister Park Hong-geun, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song, and Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won.

This stance comes against the backdrop of South Korea's tax revenue expected to reach a record 478.6 trillion won (approximately $353.7 billion) this year, which is 88.4 trillion won higher than the initial estimate when the 2026 budget was formulated, and also 63.2 trillion won higher than the estimate when the supplementary budget was prepared.

Officials at the meeting stated that this excess tax revenue should be used strategically in light of the nation's economic conditions. They added that funding should focus on areas closely tied to people's livelihoods, such as housing, employment, and economic assistance, to address the widening economic gap.

Officials at the meeting also said they would closely monitor trends in the government bond market; if necessary, market stabilization measures would be implemented, such as emergency government bond buybacks or using part of the excess tax revenue to reduce government bond issuance.

This was the first such meeting held since South Korea's new Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il took office this month.