The South Korean government plans to unveil additional stimulus in April to kick start Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is hurt by lackluster global activity and a weaker yen.

The finance ministry said Thursday it will announce a supplementary budget next month and measures to strengthen property market.

The economy is expected to grow 2.3 percent this year instead of the 3 percent expansion projected in December. The new forecast is weaker than the 2.8 percent growth estimated by the Bank of Korea.

The ministry said tax revenues would be lower than its earlier estimate due to weak growth. Domestic consumption is not expected to recover any time soon.

The latest announcement came after Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said last week in his inaugural speech that he would use "all possible measures" to boost the economic recovery. President Park Geun-hye who took office last month aims to create more than 300,000 jobs in the economy.

The economy faces tough challenges in the global market as the weaker yen promotes exports of Japan that competes with South Korea in areas like automobile and electronic products.

The ministry plans to initiate steps to curb currency market volatility, which include higher levies on banks that hold foreign bonds.

Although facing rising pressure to ease monetary policy, the central bank maintained its key interest rate at 2.75 percent for the fifth consecutive month in March. The ministry also called upon the BoK to boost loan support.

RTTNews