November 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government aims for a 3.7 percent increase in its spending next year to push the annual budget above the 400 trillion won (US$358 billion) mark for the first time, the Finance Ministry said on Aug. 30.

The proposed 2017 budget calls for boosting spending on job creation, education, defense, and culture and tourism by 10.7 percent, 6.1 percent, 4 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, as the government will reinforce its bid to jump-start Asia’s fourth-largest economy suffering from faltering exports and flaccid domestic demand.

The government will ask the National Assembly to approve 400.7 trillion won in spending for 2017, up from 386.4 trillion won assigned for this year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The amount is some 5 trillion won more than what was initially planned.

The budget proposal, which was endorsed at a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 30, will be submitted to the parliament by Friday, which is required to pass the bill by Dec. 2 under the Constitution.

It is the first time that the government’s proposed budget has surpassed the 400 trillion-won mark, indicating the government has been on an expansionary stance for more than a decade. The budget proposal surpassed 200 trillion won in 2006 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration and topped 300 trillion won in 2011 under the Lee Myung-bak government.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)