South Korea's ministries and agencies requested a 7.6 percent hike in their budget for next year as they want to spend more on research and development (R&D), welfare and foreign affairs, the finance ministry said Thursday.

   About 50 ministries and agencies are seeking to spend a combined 332.6 trillion won (US$312.6 billion) for next year, compared to the 309.1 trillion won set aside for their 2011 budget, according to the ministry.

   The rise was mostly attributed to a 13.7 percent increase in the request for R&D purposes to 16.9 trillion won. Money demanded for foreign and unification-related affairs rose 8 percent to 3.9 trillion won.

   Ministries related to health, welfare and labor demanded a 7.2 percent rise in the budget worth 92.6 trillion won, while those for education asked for 45.7 trillion won, up 10.9 percent from this year's budget, the ministry said.

   However, the budget request for culture, tourism and sports fell 6.2 percent to 3.9 trillion won. The budget for the environment also dropped 5.8 percent to 5.4 trillion won, according to the ministry.

   Based on the requests, the ministry plans to have consultations with concerned parties in the months to come before determining its final budget proposal for 2012 and submitting it to the National Assembly for approval by the end of September.

   The budget request comes as South Korea has been striving to keep its fiscal soundness intact amid lingering worries over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

   The finance ministry has vowed to keep government spending tight for sound fiscal health despite demand for more spending on welfare programs from the political community ahead of major elections slated for next year.

Source: Yonhap News (July 7, 2011)