Bank of Korea(BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong says a supplementary budget worth some 15 trillion to 20 trillion won is needed to ease an expected decline in economic growth. 

That’s between ten billion and 13-point-seven billion U.S. dollars.

Rhee made the announcement Thursday in a news conference after a meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Board, saying monetary policy is not enough to stimulate the economy.

He said now is the time for a supplementary budget, explaining that the nation’s economic growth has dipped below the potential growth rate and the negative gross domestic product gap is widening due to political uncertainty and other issues. 

Rhee said 15 trillion to 20 trillion won is needed to ease the decline in economic growth, assuming that growth in the fourth quarter of last year posts zero-point-two percent or less.

Initially, the bank had predicted zero-point-four percent growth for the fourth quarter.