S. Korea to frontload 70 pct of its budget in first half

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to lay out 70 percent of next year's state budget in the first half in order to help prevent Asia's fourth-largest economy from facing a sharp drop in its expansion, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

On Saturday, the country's parliament approved a 217.5 trillion won (US$159.44
billion) state budget for next year, laden with spending to create jobs and steer
the export-driven economy through the global financial crisis.
The 2009 budget marks a 12 percent increase from a year earlier.
About 173.6 trillion won of the budget will be laid out in the first six months
of next year with the aim of implementing 60 percent of its budget spending
during the cited period, according to the ministry.
The nation's central bank last week forecast that the economy will expand 2
percent next year, the slowest pace in 11 years, as the deepening global
recession cools demand at home and abroad.
For the year, the central bank expects the economy to expand at a rate of 3.6
percent, a sharp slowdown from last year's 5-percent expansion.
sam@yna.co.kr
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