SEOUL: South Korea's parliament passed a government-proposed supplementary budget on Friday to combat the economic fallout from an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that dealt a blow to growth in the second quarter.
The budget that was approved by lawmakers stood at a total of 11.5 trillion won ($9.84 billion), slightly less than the 11.8 trillion won initially proposed by the government in early July.
The newly passed supplementary budget includes new spending plans of about 6.2 trillion won and 5.4 trillion won to cover a tax shortfall, compared with 6.2 trillion won and 5.6 trillion won proposed before, respectively. The figures have been rounded up.
The budget aims to revive an economy reeling from a collapse in exports, the spread of MERS and a drought which caused the economy to grow by a weaker-than-expected 0.3 percent in the second quarter from the first.
Although second-quarter growth was battered by MERS and dry weather, officials at the Bank of Korea and government have said the temporary effects that dragged down the economy have subsided and it is expected to recover slowly.
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