The parliamentary committee on the national budget is scurrying to pass the extra budget, which is much needed to help stimulate the slowing economy, by this week with lawmakers gathering for a weekend budget examination meeting on Saturday.

The government submitted the extra budget proposal to the National Assembly for approval on April 18. The proposal consists of 12 trillion won ($10.1 billion) to make up for revenue shortfalls and 5.3 trillion won in more spending to stimulate the economy.

Lawmakers had originally agreed to put the budget bill to a vote on Friday or Monday, but the plan was delayed as the main opposition party objects to the government’s version of the spending plan, expressing concerns over its impact on the country’s fiscal health.

The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, which is dealing with the extra budget bill, said it will use Saturday and Sunday to examine the 17.3 trillion won supplementary budget plan before putting it to a plenary session vote early this week.

“If the examination goes smoothly, the bill will reach the (final) plenary session late Monday or Tuesday when the National Assembly’s provisional session ends,” said Choi Jae-sung, a Democratic United Party lawmaker belonging to the budget committee.

On Thursday, South Korea’s Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok called for lawmakers to pass the government’s extra budget proposal “as quickly as possible” to help the country get its slowing economic growth pace back to normal.

“In order to overcome unstable conditions at home and abroad ... and revitalize our growth momentum, it is critically necessary to pass the supplementary budget plan as quickly as possible,” Hyun said in a statement.

South Korea’s economy is showing signs of falling into a low-growth trend as its growth rate is staying below 1 percent for the eighth consecutive quarter. In the first quarter, the country’s gross domestic product grew 0.9 percent from three months earlier. (Yonhap News)