S. Korea budgets stimulus spending in 2013
The South Korean government proposed Tuesday a 2013 budget that
includes bigger spending on infrastructure, job creation and welfare as
it seeks to mitigate the impact of the global economic slowdown.
The proposal -- to be presented to parliament by next month -- calls
for total spending of 342.5 trillion won ($306 billion) for next year, a
5.3 percent rise over this year, the finance ministry said in a
statement.
Total income next year is forecast to grow by 8.6 percent to 373.1
trillion won, leaving a fiscal deficit for 2013 equal to about 0.3 of
percent gross domestic product (GDP) -- compared with 1.1 percent
estimated this year.
The aim is to balance the budget in 2014, the ministry said, revising
its previous goal of achieving fiscal balance by next year.
Overall sovereign debt will be cut to 33.2 percent of GDP next year
compared with 33.3 percent this year.
"Reviving the economy... was the first priority, followed by balanced
budget, job creation and social welfare respectively," Vice Finance
Minister Kim Dong-Yeon told reporters.
Asia's fourth-largest economy is faced with "rising fiscal threats"
such as increasing economic uncertainty at home and abroad and growing
demand for social welfare in one of world's fastest aging societies, the
ministry said.
Kim called the 0.3-percent fiscal deficit forecast for 2013 "an
excellent compromise" between the need to provide stimulus spending and
fiscal balance.
The government expects the country to run a fiscal surplus of 0.1
percent of GDP in 2014 and 0.5 percent of the GDP in 2016, he added.
The budget assumes economic growth of 4.0 percent in 2013, weaker
than the 4.3 percent estimated by the government in June but higher than
the mid-3.0 percent growth forecast by many private think tanks.
The International Monetary Funds said last week the South's economy
would grow 3.9 percent next year, citing the impact of the eurozone
crisis on exports. AFP
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