Seoul government seeks to increase 2014 budget spending by less than 5$

The government is pushing to increase its 2014 budget spending by less than 5 percent, which would be the lowest spending growth in four years, sources said Tuesday. Currently, the government is preparing its own budget proposal for next year with an aim to submit it to the National Assembly by early October. The proposal will be finalized next Thursday when a Cabinet meeting will be held. "The broad direction for our budget proposal for next year is to limit an increase in spending to the amount of the fiscal deficit projected for this year," a senior finance ministry official said. He added that the growth rate will be "slightly" lower than the 5.1 percent on-year rise in spending for this year. The government is reportedly finalizing its budget proposal where it will restrict its spending growth to the 4-percent range compared with the 342 trillion won (US$315.8 billion) set aside for this year, the sources said. Accordingly, the budget for next year is expected to range from 357 trillion won to 360 trillion won, they added.