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SEJONG South Korea (Reuters) - South Korea's government will boost budget spending more than previously planned at least for the next three years to help the local economy better cope with a tepid global recovery and a continued slump in domestic demand.

The annual government budget bill for next year and the medium-term fiscal management plans for the future, unveiled by the finance ministry, showed fiscal spending set to grow by an average of 4.7 percent each year for the 2015-2017 period.

Next year, spending will increase 5.7 percent to 376.0 trillion won ($363.46 billion), more than a 4.0 percent rise set for this year and a 3.5 percent gain marked under a previous medium-term fiscal management plan.

The ministry provided details of the plans to reporters in advance under embargo until early Thursday.

"We must take a proper response from the fiscal policy front to boost the economy," Bang Moon-kyu, a vice finance minister in charge of budget affairs, told a briefing held on Tuesday at the ministry building in Sejong, south of Seoul.

The cost of aggressive spending growth is bigger budget deficits. The country is now set to suffer a fiscal deficit at 2.1 percent of the annual gross domestic product, worse than a 1.7 percent shortfall projected for this year.

South Korea has no serious problem with its fiscal position as it has long followed strict policies. President Park Geun-hye last year officially scrapped an earlier target of achieving a fiscal surplus during her term, which ends in early 2018.

The government will submit next year's budget bill to parliament for approval. The parliament, in which the ruling party holds a majority of seats, is required by law to approve next year's budget plans by early December.

South Korea's fiscal year starts on Jan. 1.

Under the new medium-term fiscal management plan, South Korea is now scheduled to post a 1.3 percent fiscal deficit in 2017, the final full year of Park's presidency, wider than a 0.4 percent deficit projected under the previous plan.

The government assumed next year's economic growth at 4 percent for the budget, compared with a projected 3.7 percent for this year and last year's actual 3.0 percent expansion.

Since Choi Kyung-hwan was nominated as finance minister in June, he has repeatedly warned that South Korea's economy, the fourth-largest in Asia, was in danger of entering a protracted slump similar to one afflicting Japan.

After taking office in July, Choi introduced a series of aggressive stimulus measures, including an $11 billion public spending package and easing of mortgage curbs. The central bank, under his push, lowered the policy interest rate in August.

Choi told a news conference on Tuesday that the government could keep its expansionary fiscal policy for several years, mindful that an anticipated pick-up in economic growth next year might only be tentative.

Next year, the government plans to spend 115.5 trillion won - nearly one-third of its total planned budget expenditure - on health, jobs and welfare. This will be the most ever allocated to that category.

Spending to spur job creation will increase by 7.6 percent. South Korea's unemployment rate of around 3.5 percent is one of the lowest among medium- to high-income economies, but the number of full-time, quality jobs available has been declining.

The finance ministry said the country's sovereign debt would increase to 35.7 percent of the annual gross domestic product in 2015 from an estimated 35.1 percent for this year.

Separately, a ministry official said the government would sell up to a net 43.2 trillion won worth of treasury bonds next year, mostly to fund the fiscal deficit, more than a net 27.7 trillion worth set for this year.

The official said the government also plans to sell up to $700 million in foreign-currency bonds in 2015, mainly to pay for an existing 500 million euros worth of debt due to mature next year.

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monetary / fiscal policy / policy makers

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South Korea to sharply boost budget spending to spur economy

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SEJONG South Korea (Reuters) - South Korea's government will boost budget spending more than previously planned at least for the next three years to help the local economy better cope with a tepid global recovery and a continued slump in domestic demand.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-02/korean-inflation-rises-at-the-fastest-pace-in-almost-a-year

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http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/22/koreas-gdp-growth-at-five-year-high.html

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South Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in five years in the third quarter, shaking off the blow dealt by the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak earlier in the year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent in the July to September period over the previous quarter, according to an advance estimate published on Friday. This marks the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010 and is up sharply from 0.3 percent growth in April-June. In year-on year terms, growth accelerated 2.6 percent, up from 2.2 percent in the previous quarter.

Here's what drove the growth:

Based on expenditure, gross fixed capital formation rose 2.9 percent on quarter, driven by a rise in construction activity. Construction investment grew 4.5 percent, with increases in both building construction and civil engineering. Companies also invested in machinery and equipment, boosting facilities investment.

Private consumption expanded by 1.1 percent on quarter, led by an uptick in spending on both services and durable goods, while government spending rose by 1.9 percent.

"We expect domestic demand to remain the main driver of the recovery, helped by supportive policy measures," Krystal Tan, Asia economist at Capital Economics wrote in a note.

"The BoK [Bank of Korea] has cut its policy rate four times since August 2014, which has in turn supported a pick-up in household credit growth. With inflationary pressures benign, monetary policy will likely remain loose over the next year."

Read More This worries SKorea more than a US rate hike

On top of monetary support, the government has also stepped in with measures to boost the economy. In late July, the parliament passed an 11.5 trillion won ($10.2 billion) supplementary budget to help cope with the economic fallout associated with MERS.

Exports, on the other hand, were a key drag on the economy, reflecting weak external demand, particularly from key trading partner China. Imports meanwhile increased, pinching the net exports component

Exports contracted 0.2 percent on quarter, with decreases in shipments of LCDs, chemical products and ships.

"The export sector remains a weak spot, but while a strong rebound is unlikely, we expect a modest improvement in external demand, particularly from China, to offer some support in the coming quarters," Tan said.

Nevertheless, Korea's growth bounce back is prompting some economists to take another look their annual growth forecasts.

"We are reviewing our 2.2 percent full-year growth forecast for upward revision," said Prakash Sakpal, economist at ING.

Based on performance by activity, the electricity, gas, and water supply component surged 7.9 percent in the September quarter as the unusually warm weather likely prompted people to crank up their air conditioners, lifting demand for electric power. Agriculture expanded 6.5 percent, having tumbled a whopping 12.2 percent in the previous quarter.

Construction grew by a tidy 5.3 percent as building activity picked up. Services, having not grown at all in the previous quarter due to the MERS outbreak, climbed 1 percent as relieved consumers ate out and shopped more. The country's manufacturing sector only grew a feeble 0.1 percent.

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Korea's GDP growth at 5-year high: Key facts

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South Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in five years in the third quarter, shaking off the blow dealt by the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak earlier in the year. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent in the July to September period over the previous quarter, according to an advance estimate published on Friday.

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Reuters article on fiscal policy is very good. But it would be better if you import the article instead of adding just the link.

Get another article for GDP / UE / Inflation from recent months (should not be very hard to find).

Your supporting references (tradingeconomics and cia) are very good, make the most of their information.

But as noted above, you will need some currency through latest news, and especially more on GDP and Inflation as you analysis is so far only on Unemployment.

Once you added the news articles, with brief preliminary analysis, you will be okay for submission.

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Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

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South Korea GDP | 1960-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News

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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Korea was worth 1411.25 billion US dollars in 2016. The GDP value of South Korea represents 2.28 percent of the world economy. GDP in South Korea averaged 403.50 USD Billion from 1960 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 1411.33 USD Billion in 2014 and a record low of 2.42 USD Billion in 1961.

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From the above article,

South Korea is scheduled to post a 1.3 percent fiscal deficit in 2017. The new finance minister, Choi Kyung-hwan introduced a series of aggressive stimulus measures including an $11 billion public spending package and easing of mortgage. The government also plans to spend 115.5 trillion won on health, jobs and welfare.

Separately, the government would sell up to net 43.2 trillion won worth of treasury bond next year to fund the fiscal deficit, more than a net 27.7 trillion worth set this year.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-economy-budget-idUSKBN0HD01220140918#lreVqlsViHDMhxX1.97

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Unemployment rate of South Korea - Shawn

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Unemployment rate of South Korea - Shawn

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http://www.tradingeconomics.com/south-korea/unemployment-rate

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South Korea Inflation Rate | 1966-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast

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South Korea's inflation rate slowed to 1.9 percent in April of 2017 from 2.2 percent in the previous month, slightly below expectations of 2.0 percent. The inflation rate returned to the central bank target of 2.0 percent after surpassing it in March for the second time in 4.5 years.