(LEAD) Gov't sets aside 70 pct of annual spending for H1

(ATTN: ADDS president's comment, more info from 5th para)
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- The government said Monday that it has set aside around
70 percent of its planned annual expenditure during the first half of this year
as part of efforts to accelerate an economic recovery from the global recession.

A total of 178.3 trillion won (US$153.6 billion) was assigned for spending during
the January-June period, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. It
accounts for 69.8 percent of the government's 255.3 trillion won spending plan
for this year.
During the first quarter, 109.8 trillion won was assigned for government
spending, while 68.6 trillion won for the second quarter, the ministry said.
The move was endorsed in the Cabinet meeting held on Monday. It is aimed at
accelerating the government efforts to stimulate the nation's economic recovery
and in line with its continued drive to frontload its budget spending, the
ministry explained.
During the meeting, President Lee Myung-bak called for his ministers to
"effectively and swiftly" carry out budget spending this year, adding that job
creation for ordinary people is one of the most important tasks confronting the
nation's economy.
Pummeled by the global recession that started late 2008, South Korea's economy
was feared to contract for the first time in more than a decade last year. Job
markets froze, household income declined and corporate investment plunged.
But the government-led expansionary economic policy and other stimulus measures
led to a better-than-expected recovery, with diverse economic indicators pointing
to a rebound.
The economy, Asia's fourth-largest, is expected to grow 0.2 percent last year
before expanding 5 percent this year, the ministry earlier forecast in its 2010
economy-management plan.
Last Thursday, the National Assembly passed the government's 2010 budget bill
worth 292.8 trillion won.
The parliamentary passage was far behind the legal deadline of Dec. 3 due to
protracted wrangling among lawmakers, which raises concerns over a possible delay
in the government-led spending amid still lingering economic uncertainties.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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