FM says S. Korea’s growth rate will drop more without supplementary budget

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s economic growth rate will drop to about 2.5 percent without supplementary budget, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said on July 12.

Speaking to the parliamentary Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, Yoo, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said that if the government is not granted the supplementary budget, the country’s growth rate will hover around 2.5 percent.

He said that the ministry will submit the supplementary budget in the near future, and asked for swift approval by the National Assembly, saying that last year’s supplementary budget was instrumental in pushing up the growth rate.

According to Yoo, last year’s supplementary budget aided in raising the growth rate by about 0.2 percentage points. Last year, South Korea’s economy showed a growth rate of 2.6 percent.

The government’s projection for this year is 2.8 percent.

Yoo said that a supplementary budget has been deemed necessary in responding preemptively to the potential fallout from corporate restructuring efforts and UK’s departure from the European Union, and other domestic and international factors.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)