The government has decided to frontload the spending of a 29-point-two trillion won budget for job programs in the first half of the year in response to uncertainties in the job market. 

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the plan on Tuesday during a meeting of economy ministers at the government complex in Seoul. 

The government plans to hire 700-thousand people for state-backed job programs mostly for the elderly around the Lunar New Year holiday, about 60 percent of this year's target of one million-170-thousand.

The government plans to hire one million-55-thousand, or 90 percent, of this year’s target for job programs by the first quarter and one-million-142-thousand or 97 percent by the first half of the year. 

A budget of 29-point-two trillion won is allocated for a total of 161 job programs this year, with 14-point-nine trillion won earmarked for 128 projects, excluding 33 programs that cannot be executed early.

The government plans to spend 67 percent or ten trillion won of the budget on these 128 programs in the first half.