SEOUL: South Korea's government is considering an extra budget worth more than $15 billion to boost the economy.    

The finance ministry submitted the 17.3 trillion won ($15.3 billion) plan to parliament on Tuesday.

It would be South Korea's third-largest supplementary budget ever, exceeded only by the extra budgets approved after the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial turmoil.

The ministry said the budget will be used to cover a tax revenue shortfall, aid small and medium firms and create jobs as private investment and exports stall.

The move underlines how the government is seeking a quick fix to the slowdown in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Last week, the central bank resisted calls to lower borrowing costs and kept its key interest rate unchanged for a sixth month.