Seoul, June 8 (IANS) President Lee Jae-myung will hold the second meeting of the emergency economic task force this week, his office said on Sunday, which is likely discuss an additional supplementary budget to boost the local economy.

Lee is set to preside over the session with presidential aides, relevant authorities and working-level officials on Monday, with economic stimulus measures and details of the second supplementary budget expected to be high on the agenda, reports Yonhap news agency.

Lee chaired the first meeting of the task force on his first day in office last week, during which he was briefed on the assessment of the local economy and potential effects of an extra budget.

During his campaign, Lee pledged to introduce an additional extra budget of at least 30 trillion won (US$22.1 billion) to revitalise the sluggish economy.

As the National Assembly approved a 13.8 trillion-won extra budget bill last month, the additional budget is expected to be at least 20 trillion won.

Rep. Jin Sung-joon, policy chair of the ruling Democratic Party, said in a recent radio interview that the party is considering a supplementary budget worth 20-21 trillion won, noting 14 trillion won in spending, out of its initial proposal of 35 trillion won, was already confirmed in the first supplementary budget.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry held a meeting last week to discuss drafting a second supplementary budget bill with an aim to boost the local economy, officials said, following President Lee Jae-myung’s call for economic recovery efforts.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance held the meeting earlier in the day as a follow-up measure to the emergency government task force (TF) meeting held the previous day to address economic challenges, according to the officials.

In the TF meeting, Lee asked government officials detailed questions regarding the government’s fiscal capacity for an extra budget and the immediate economic stimulus effects it would generate, according to presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung.

During his election campaign, Lee had vowed to introduce an additional extra budget of at least 30 trillion won (US$22.1 billion) to revitalize South Korea’s sluggish economy and improve people’s livelihoods.

—IANS

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