Hong Nam-ki

On several occasions, Hong expressed his disapproval of adopting universal basic income as it only significantly worsens fiscal responsibility without effectively replacing the current social safety net and for this reason it is not adopted by any countries in the world.^[6]

After the government and the ruling party led by Lee concluded not to lower the taxation threshold for "a large shareholder" from 1 billion won to 300 million won worth of stocks in a single company^[7] upon strong opposition from the both sides of the political parties,^[8] Hong submitted his resignation reasoning that "someone had to take responsibility on the debate that lasted for two months and on the current status of not lowering the threshold."^[9][10] President Moon immediately rejected his resignation and reaffirmed him^[11] citing that he is the right person to lead Korea's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12] In response to two petitions calling for Hong's removal from office due to this "shareholder issue," the Blue House reiterated that Hong and the government have committed themselves in economic recovery.^[13][14]

In January 2021, Hong reiterated his stance on fiscal responsibility in response to growing discussions on the possible fourth COVID-19 relief and financial assistance to businesses affected by the pandemic. Although Korea's debt-to-GDP ratio is relatively low compared to other developed countries, cumulative debt, according to Hong, is a burden to the future generations. He also emphasised that government spending is not a "widow's cruise" and therefore must be spent wisely even in this pandemic. Moreover, in an interview, he expressed his willingness to actively participate in such discussions as he has a solemn duty as the country's finance minister to "guard the storehouse (meaning country's budget)."^{[15][16][17][18][19]} Even on his last day as the minister, he reiterated the importance of maintaining fiscal soundness of the country.^[20]