SEOUL - SOUTH Korea will spend an extra 4.9 trillion won (S$5.3 billion) this year to create 550,000 new jobs amid the economic slump, the presidential office said on Thursday.

The decision was reached at a special presidential council meeting on the economic crisis. The money will come from a supplementary budget expected to be unveiled next week.

Media reports and officials say the government is likely to ask parliament to approve an extra budget of around 30 trillion won.

The country's export-driven economy is teetering on the edge of its first recession since 1998. The official unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent in February, the highest in almost four years.

The number of people employed fell by 142,000 year-on-year, the largest reduction since September 2003. -- AFP