S. Korea's government to execute 70 % of extra budget within 3 months to support economy

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced the plan at a meeting of economy-related ministers, saying the swift execution is aimed at maximizing the impact of fiscal spending.

The extra budget, approved by the National Assembly last week, includes some 400 billion won for the issuance of local currency vouchers to help small merchants and 89.8 billion won worth of vouchers for export firms ailing amid global trade protectionism sparked by the U.S. administration's tariff scheme.

With the execution, companies will be able to start using export vouchers worth a combined 178.6 billion won in June and a new 4 trillion-won low-interest loan program later this month.

Small merchants will become eligible for up to 500,000 won in support to cover utility and insurance bills in July, according to the ministry.

To enhance South Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the government will open bidding for a 1.7 trillion-won project aimed at securing high-performance graphic processing units (GPUs) in May and initiate a project aimed at developing global-level large language models in July.

"Our economy is facing greater uncertainty than ever before," acting Finance Minister Kim Beom-suk said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's tariff policies and domestic political uncertainties amid a leadership vacuum. Former Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo and former Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok stepped down last week.

"The government will stay focused on managing risks and key issues to ensure stability and public confidence through the remainder of the current administration," he said.

As written before, South Korea and the U.S. were to launch working-level talks on tariffs.