SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea will soon submit a 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion) supplementary budget bill to parliament to respond to the fallout from the country’s worst-ever forest fires and counter slumping growth, the finance minister said on Sunday.
Choi Sang-mok told an urgently scheduled policy meeting that the fires have destroyed 48,000 hectares (120,000 acres) and caused 75 casualties.
“We plan to draw up an emergency supplementary budget worth 10 trillion won we can swiftly execute,” Choi said, urging parliament to approve the measure before the end of April.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy is grappling with the fires, which killed at least 30 people and prompted calls for national reforms to better tackle such disasters.
South Korea also faces additional U.S. tariffs from President Donald Trump in coming days, potentially damaging sectors across chips, pharmaceuticals and autos in a major challenge for the export-reliant nation.
South Korea’s central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75% and significantly lowered its economic growth forecasts last month, taking the economy from a restrictive monetary policy stance towards a neutral one to support growth.
The economy grew a meagre 0.1% in the fourth quarter. The Bank of Korea has cut its forecast for 2025 growth to 1.5% from 1.9%.
($1 = 1,469.8700 won)
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim in Seoul; Editing by William Mallard)
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