Total budget spending by the government and public institutions reached 89.3 trillion won over the three-month period.

The ministry said the extended government spending contributed to raising the number of newly employed people in the construction sector by 164,000 in March.

It said the government will make constant efforts to encourage public agencies to follow through on the budget spending plan as fast as possible in order to enhance its fiscal impact on the overall economy.

The South Korean government earlier said it will spend nearly 60 percent of the 400 trillion won ($351.6 billion) budget for 2017 in the first half to prop up growth, which has shown some signs of an upturn in recent months thanks to recovered global demand. (Yonhap)