South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday urged his government to aggressively expand fiscal spending next year to help revitalize the slumping economy.

"Both the central and provincial governments should be ready to implement planned fiscal expenditures as soon as parliament approves next year's budget bill," Lee said at a meeting with 16 provincial governors and metropolitan mayors in Seoul.

"I have a strong willingness to stimulate the economy through aggressive fiscal spending, even if the government sustains a budget deficit ... Now, the biggest concern is employment. The central government will extend full support to provincial governments, as far as job creation is concerned," he said, stressing that the government will give top policy priority on increasing job opportunities and accelerating infrastructure construction projects nationwide.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2008)