President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday it is unrealistic to pursue both economic growth and welfare expansion for now, stressing that priority should be placed on expanding the economic pie rather than welfare.

The president wrote the message on his X account, uploading a media column that argued the government's budget bill for next year relatively lacked spending on "distribution."

"Giving up growth while expanding welfare should never happen. Pursing the expansion of both growth and welfare is ideal but unrealistic," Lee wrote, adding, "Now is inevitably the time to focus on growth to expand the pie."

The president still argued that the government has not cut back on welfare.

"If we fail to recover sustained growth and head toward zero or negative growth, (economic) polarization would further worsen and could even lead to a decline in welfare," he said.

The president added that the government is also paying attention to improving welfare policies and that more time would be needed for further measures.

The previous day, the government proposed a record 820.9 trillion-won ($599 billion) budget for next year, up more than 10 percent from this year, amid expectations of increased tax revenue stemming from a semiconductor boom.

During a Cabinet meeting the same day, Lee cited bolstering the country's global industrial competitiveness as one of the budget goals for next year.

Appearing on a radio program by broadcaster CBS, a presidential aide said the government is expected to collect more than 200 trillion won in corporate tax next year thanks to the chip boom, calling it a "jackpot."

Ryu Deok-hyun, presidential aide for fiscal planning, noted that tax revenue is expected to exceed 580 trillion won in 2027.

"Anything over 400 trillion won should be considered enormous," he said. "The government using that tax money to purchase public resources needed by everyone is what constitutes a budgetary, fiscal decision."

Ryu cited the semiconductor boom and an anticipated rise in tax collection from increased income, stock trading and consumption as factors that made it possible for the government to draft a record high budget for 2027. (Yonhap)