The government will unveil its own labor reform bill if parties to the ongoing talks fail to meet the deadline to reach a compromise, the top economic policymaker said Wednesday.

Turning up the heat on labor unions, the government has given the so-called tripartite committee until Thursday to come up with an agreement on how to reform the country's rigid labor market.

"Unless the committee reaches a settlement by the Thursday deadline, the government will be forced to announce a bill and set administrative guidelines on labor reform," Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said at a meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul.

The deadline should be met because the government must submit its 2016 budget plan to the National Assembly on Friday, said Choi, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

"The proposal and guidelines will aim to enhance labor market flexibility, while at the same time providing job security," he said.

Government officials have said that a deal reached before the deadline can allow next year's budget to take into account the funds needed to expand the country's social security net and unemployment benefits.

Despite a decision by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions to return to the tripartite talks late last month, the parties have made no headway on major issues like permitting the dismissal of underperformers or allowing companies to unilaterally change the rules of employment.

Management and the government have stressed that easing rules on layoffs and making it possible to change employment contracts are vital if the country's labor market is to become competitive.

Both have said greater labor market flexibility is key to allowing young people to find work.

The FKTU, on the other hand, wants to prevent companies from hiring temporary workers and ban discrimination between full-time and temporary workers.

Choi, meanwhile, said South Korea's tumbling exports are resulting from structural challenges facing the global economy as a whole.

South Korea's exports plunged 14.7 percent on-year in August, while outbound shipments in the first eight months of this year were off by 6.1 percent.

"The government will support industrywide measures to boost competitiveness, but companies should first take full advantage of free trade agreements and seek to diversify into new export markets that can offset a drop in demand from countries like China," he said. (Yonhap)