The ruling party chief on Tuesday called on the government to take pre-emptive actions to ease escalating jitters in the local stock market.
South Korea's financial watchdog on Monday unveiled a plan to set up a 500 billion won ($438.4 million) fund to stabilize the stock market.
But the move failed to prop up the market as South Korea's key stock index declined below the psychologically important 2,000 level Monday, the first time in about 22 months, on continued panic selling.
"It is urgent to draw up measures to ease market jitters that have spread in the stock market," Hong Young-pyo, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, said at a meeting with party members.
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(Yonhap)
"The government unveiled the market-stabilizing measures yesterday, but it was not sufficient," he said.
Hong stressed the need to prevent investors' sluggish sentiment from denting the real economy.
"The government needs to be more active and pre-emptive (in tackling the market situation) with a sense of urgency," he added.
Meanwhile, the ruling DP raised the need for expansive fiscal spending for next year to prop up the slowing economy.
In late August, the government submitted a 2019 budget proposal worth a record 470 trillion won to boost job creation and expand social welfare.
The National Assembly, which wrapped up its annual audit of government agencies Monday, will begin to review the budget bill.
Conservative opposition parties denounced the budget plan as "tax bombs."
"Next year's budget will be a springboard for a new future where initiatives for job creation, peace and social welfare will go together," said Kim Tae-nyeon, the DP's chief policymaker. "It is inevitable that the fiscal policy will be expansionary." (Yonhap)