SEOUL, April 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's extra budget to help boost the export-driven economy would not surpass 7 trillion won (6.1 billion U.S. dollars), the country's finance minister said Wednesday.
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who is also the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, told local reporters that the supplementary budget this year was not expected to top 7 trillion won (6.1 billion U.S. dollars) to meet the government's growth target between 2.6 percent and 2.7 percent.
The finance ministry planned to submit a supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly later this month to bolster the lackluster economy, caused by global economic slowdown.
The country's export, which takes up about half of the economy, kept falling for four straight months through March on lower semiconductor price and weakened global trade.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) set its growth forecast for the South Korean economy this year at 2.6 percent, recommending the government may need an extra budget of about 9 trillion won (7.9 billion U.S. dollars).
The minister said that the extra budget would be also used to tackle fine dust air pollution and increase manpower and equipment for the fight against forest fire.
Last week, a forest fire that started from a northeastern border town of South Korea devastated a broad region in Gangwon province, raising public calls for more fiscal support for firefighting authorities.
