Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho has called for a swift parliamentary approval of the government’s extra budget bill.
 
He delivered the call in a joint government statement, which was announced on Tuesday in the presence of Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon, Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong.
 
Yoo said that the extra budget will not be as effective as it was designed if its approval is delayed any further. He stressed the importance of passing the plan in order to revive the nation’s economy, noting lukewarm corporate investments and sluggish exports amid falling oil prices and trade protectionist policies endorsed across the world.
 
He also worried that a delayed approval could lead to the disappearance of up to 68-thousand jobs, presenting gloomy employment statistics, such as a surge in the number of jobless people and a ten percent unemployment rate among young South Koreans.
 
Earlier in the day, the ruling Saenuri Party's Floor Leader Chung Jin-suk also called on the parliament to swiftly pass the government’s extra budget.
 
Chung said a late approval of the supplementary budget plan could lower the country’s economic growth this year to under the mid two-percent range. He stressed the importance of promptly carrying out an economic policy, adding that the country should implement the extra budget plan early.