South Korea Plans $28 Billion in Third Extra Budget, Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea plans its largest supplementary budget yet as the nation seeks to shore up a slumping economy and lay the groundwork for post-pandemic growth.

The government will submit a 35.3 trillion won ($28 billion) extra budget to parliament soon, senior presidential secretary Kang Ki-jung said Tuesday during a meeting with opposition party officials, according to footage from Yonhap TV.

With one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios among developed nations, South Korea is cranking up spending to support an economy squeezed by the pandemic. It has already carried out two extra budgets this year that amount to roughly $10 billion each, and the Bank of Korea has also slashed its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.5%.

South Korea plans to use part of its third extra budget to support President Moon Jae-in’s “New Deal” project intended to create jobs in technology sectors such as fifth-generation wireless networks and artificial intelligence.

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