Economics
South Korea Plans Biggest Budget Increase in 10 Years
- Government to propose 471 trillion won of spending for 2019
- Plans include spending record 24 trillion won to create jobs
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s government proposes to spend a record 471 trillion won ($420 billion) next year, aimed at speeding up the economy by creating jobs, raising the minimum wage and prodding innovative growth.
The 2019 budget proposal calls for a spending increase of about 9.7 percent from last year’s initial budget, the biggest jump since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009, the finance ministry said in a statement. Spending to create jobs will rise a record amount, while infrastructure spending will fall, the ministry said.