Finance minister Choi Sang-mok said while the economy is showing signs of a modest recovery, improvements that can be felt by the public are moving more slowly than those shown in economic indicators.

At an emergency economic ministers' meeting on Wednesday, Choi said the nation logged a current account surplus for the ninth consecutive month in January thanks to strong exports, while the employment rate reached a record high for the month of February.

The minister, however, noted a slowdown in construction investment and continued difficulties among young jobseekers and workers at small and medium-sized businesses due to the dual structure of the labor market.

In response, the government is soon expected to come up with measures to boost construction investment, as well as steps to increase social mobility by next month.

The minister pledged the government's utmost efforts to realize the recovery of public livelihoods and to improve the economic vitality to achieve a balanced recovery of exports and domestic consumption.