South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday the country will permit people who will travel overseas for business for more than a year to receive COVID-19 vaccines before their departure.

Currently, the country has given priority for vaccinations to businesspeople who will stay overseas to work for less than three months.

The move is aimed at helping ease the burden of companies, which may balk at planning overseas business trips due to the pandemic, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki.

The country has been accelerating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout with a goal of inoculating more than 13 million people, some 25 percent of the total population of 52 million, by the end of June.

Hong also said the government will make effort to increase the supply of steel bars in a bid to help the construction sector better cope with a recent steep hike in prices of such products.

Sales prices of steel bars surged 85 percent on-year to 1.2 million won ($1,075) per ton in May.

The minister said production of steel bars is expected to increase around 500,000 tons on-quarter in the second quarter to 2.8 million tons. (Yonhap)