A South Korea won note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. In its annual spending plan released on Tuesday, the finance ministry set total government expenditure for 2024 at 656.9 trillion won ($496.70 billion), up 2.8% from 2023. Big spending increases include social welfare, up by 7.5% to 242.9 trillion won, defence up 4.5% to 59.6 trillion won and corporate support by 4.9% to 27.3 trillion won. The government will issue 158.8 trillion won of treasury bonds in 2024, down from a total of 167.8 trillion won planned for this year. The net increase in treasury bonds is projected at 50.3 trillion won.

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Persons: Thomas White, Yoon Suk, Choo Kyung, 1,322.5400, Jihoon Lee, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: South, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: South Korea, Rights SEOUL