Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho has announced that South Korea plans to execute at least 70% of this year's employment-related budget of KRW14.9tr (USD11.4bn) in the first half of 2023, taking note of the economy and the slowing job market. The announcement came after South Korea reported the largest number of job additions in more than 20 years in 2022 at around 820,000. The figure is expected to rise at a narrower margin of just 100,000 on-year in 2023 amid economic uncertainties and the country's falling population. Choo added that South Korea plans to provide jobs to around 1million people in the economically vulnerable group, with a goal of hiring 88.6% of them by the end of this month. He added that the government plans to expedite policy measures to secure jobs.