Finance Minister Lee Hun-jai says the government will spend some 4.5 trillion won or some 3.9 billion dollars in extra funds to help jump start the sluggish economy.

At a weekly news briefing Friday, Lee said the government would request a supplementary budget of some 2 trillion won from parliament, while the remainder would come from reprioritizing existing spending plans.

Lee said about 1.7 trillion won of the total would go to help families that are hard hit by the weak economy while 1.3 trillion won would be used to support small to medium-sized companies and small-time retailers. The rest would be used for energy-related spending.

The top economic policymaker also expressed disappointment at the drop in the latest employment figures, which he attributed to recession in the construction, manufacturing, service and agricultural sectors.

Lee, who is concurrently serving as acting prime minister, also spoke of a pressing need to bring the construction industry to a soft landing, asking the Ministry of Construction and Transportation to come up with viable measures to that effect.