Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo said Wednesday he will conduct a thorough check on government spending to ensure that taxpayer money is not wasted.

Lee said the government should monitor whether its spending is wasteful or redundant instead of focusing on setting the budget.

"It's our duty to our citizens," he said at a policy meeting in Seoul.

Lee added that the government would be able to save about 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) if local governments joined in the effort. (Yonhap)