South Korea's Finance Minister has admitted the zero-point-three percent fall in GDP in the first quarter is concerning, and vowed to come up with measures to boost private investment by the first half of this year.<br />At the economy-related ministers' meeting on Monday, Hong Nam-ki said the government is working on plans to boost investment in various sectors including system memory chips which are used for driverless cars and AI. <br />On rising global oil prices following the U.S. announcement to end exemptions on Iranian oil sanctions, he said the government will help local petrochemical companies diversify oil imports. <br />He added that it is critical the 5-point-nine billion U.S. dollar extra budget bill at the National Assembly is passed quickly to help boost economic growth. <br />
