Seoul to use extra budget to create jobs

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government will spend an additional
4.9 trillion won (US$3.54 billion) this year to create 550,000 new jobs, the
presidential office said Thursday, amid reports that a record 1 million are now
unemployed in the nation.

The decision was reached at a special presidential council meeting on the
economic crisis.
The money needed for the plan will come from a supplementary budget that the
government is expected to request soon. Financial officials have said the
government will likely ask for nearly 30 trillion won, about 10 percent of the
government's 2009 budget of some 284.5 trillion won, to help fight the ongoing
economic downturn.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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