Only one of the 77 new projects under the Lee Jae-myung government's Future Response Fund has cleared a preliminary feasibility study, according to an analysis released on the 29th. While 29 trillion won has been allocated to the new projects, more than 10 trillion won went to projects that skipped either a feasibility study or fiscal review, raising concerns about weak upfront vetting.
Rep. Park Soo-young of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Finance and Economic Planning Committee, analyzed the entire "2027 Future Response Fund Project Briefing Materials" submitted by the Ministry of Planning and Budget. The review found that 77 of the fund's 131 projects, excluding the general account, are new. Of the total project budget of 45.3858 trillion won, new projects account for 29.4255 trillion won, or 64.8%.
The concern is that large-scale new projects drawing tens of trillions of won in taxpayer money have not been adequately vetted for feasibility. Of the 77 new projects, 56 worth 21.5 trillion won are required to undergo a preliminary feasibility study because their total project cost exceeds 50 billion won and state funding exceeds 30 billion won. Excluding two pure transfer programs — the local future growth support fund and contributions to the integrated local government fund — the number subject to feasibility studies narrows to 54 projects worth 15.16 trillion won.
Only one project, the Korean space launch vehicle advancement program for research and development, has cleared a feasibility study. Three others were written into the budget before their reviews concluded: the nuclear fusion core technology development and demonstration infrastructure project (160.1 billion won), the small lunar lander development project (106.3 billion won) and the physical AI core technology development project (55 billion won).
Park's analysis found that 34 projects worth 10.1525 trillion won underwent neither a feasibility study nor equivalent fiscal review, without even receiving a formal exemption. Park said the government has not submitted to the National Assembly any record or justification for skipping the reviews.
The analysis also identified cases in which existing programs were sharply expanded without the reassessment required for such changes. The regional balanced development scholarship program will more than quadruple its annual budget from 80 billion won to 328 billion won next year and extend eligibility to graduates of high schools in the greater Seoul area, yet the change was written into the budget without separate deliberation.
Equity investments by state-run institutions followed the same pattern. Under the relevant guidelines, new projects with total costs of at least 200 billion won and combined state funding and public institution contributions of at least 100 billion won must undergo a public institution feasibility study. But five projects worth a combined 3.15 trillion won bypassed the process: housing support for young adults (1.4 trillion won), a project finance normalization fund backed by the Korea Asset Management Corp. (500 billion won), a Korean-style strategic sovereign wealth fund (500 billion won), an equity investment in KEPCO (500 billion won) and an equity investment in Korea Water Resources Corp. (250 billion won).
"New projects require a feasibility study, continuing projects require a reassessment, and equity investments require a public institution feasibility study — but the Ministry of Planning and Budget ignored every fiscal review procedure it set for itself," Park said. "The Lee Jae-myung government's Future Response Fund projects show not just budget waste but fiscal decay."
