The government plans to draft next year’s budget with a focus on measures to tackle high youth unemployment rates, the low birth rate as well the country's rapidly aging population. 

Koo Yun-cheol, a senior official at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance handling the national budget, revealed the plan during a meeting Wednesday with local governments’ representatives in Sejong City. He said the 2019 budget will target four major areas --- jobs for young people, low birth rates and aging, innovative growth and safe society. 

It is expected that youth job creation will again be the top budget priority as the government is currently seeking a similar goal through a supplementary budget plan pending at the National Assembly. 

Meanwhile, regional governments called on the central government to allocate budgets for policies that can prop up regional economies through such projects as infrastructure construction, research and development to help foster the fourth Industrial Revolution, and tourism promotion.