By Xu Aiying and Lee Jihae

The National Assembly on Dec. 2 passed the national budget for next year of KRW 558 trillion.

The figure is a net increase of KRW 2.2 trillion from the amount proposed by the government.

Next year's budget is the highest in the nation's history and the first since 2010 to exceed the amount proposed by the government.

By purpose, KRW 3 trillion of the budget will go to recovering from the damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, KRW 900 billion to securing coronavirus vaccines, KRW 700 billion to setting policy actions to stabilize housing, and KRW 300 billion each to responding to climate change, stabilizing employment and implementing caretaker projects.

President Moon Jae-in on the same day called the approval "the result of cooperative governance" on his social media accounts shortly after the budget was passed.

He added that national finance must fulfill its role of protecting the people's daily lives and public health more than anything else in these tough times. 

Amid this global crisis, the president called the "re-discovery of Korea" the pride of the Korean people, and said that in the new year, his administration will continue to be a strong government protecting public health and assuming responsibility for the nation's future.

Of the 287 lawmakers, 249 voted for and 26 against the 2021 budget, with 12 abstaining.

xuaiy@korea.kr