A shopper takes a look at lettuce and other green vegetables at a supermarket in Seoul, Aug. 21. Yonhap

The government is rolling out a series of measures aimed at encouraging consumers to spend more on domestic goods and services during the Chuseok holiday and throughout the remainder of 2024.

These measures are being introduced in response to persistently weak consumer spending more than halfway through the year. The sluggish spending is contributing to a slowdown in economic growth, despite a recovery in exports.

For instance, the Bank of Korea (BOK) revised down this year's growth forecast from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent, Thursday, according to the latest economic outlook update from financial institutions both domestically and internationally.

"Given the circumstances, it is certainly worth the government's effort to boost private consumption during the Chuseok holiday," said Kim Jung-sik, an economics professor at Yonsei University.

The professor referred to a joint decision made by the government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Sunday to supply 170,000 tons of 20 essential food items for Chuseok.

This will be a record supply of those items for Chuseok, intended to counteract the impact of heavy rainfall and persistent heat waves, which are expected to affect the harvest of fresh produce and drive up prices.

Many of the 20 items are fresh produce, such as apples, pears, cabbages and radishes.

"Encouraging consumers to voluntarily spend by keeping prices affordable is likely the most effective measure for the government, especially as it grapples with a shortage of taxable income," said Inha University economics professor Kang Byung-goo.

"The government does not seem to have the financial capacity to stimulate private spending in the second half of the year to meet its annual growth target," he added.

Kang pointed out that, in the first half of the year, the government spent 357.5 trillion won ($258.85 billion), which amounts to 63.6 percent of the 561.8 trillion won allocated for projects requiring rapid execution in 2024.

Such a strategy of front-loading the budget was primarily intended to quickly stimulate consumer spending and investments.

Nevertheless, private consumption contracted by 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous three months.

This contraction offset a 0.9 percent increase in exports over the same period, which, in turn, caused the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the April-June period.

Against this backdrop, the government's expenditures are further strained by national debt, which has exceeded 1,100 trillion won every quarter since the April-June period in 2022.

Additionally, the government is collecting less tax than anticipated due to reduced business activity, with a tax revenue shortfall exceeding 10 trillion won in the first six months of 2024.

Regarding other measures to boost private spending during Chuseok, Kang said the government is "on the right track" with its plans to waive highway tolls and offer discounted KTX and SRT bullet train tickets for travelers coming from the provinces to the capital area for family reunions.

He noted that people are increasingly favoring overseas travel and suggested that "offering benefits on transportation can help boost domestic travel."

Meanwhile, the ruling party asked the government, Sunday, to designate Oct. 1 as a temporary public holiday to mark the 76th anniversary of the Armed Forces.

If implemented, this would result in three public holidays in October: Oct. 3 for National Foundation Day, Oct. 9 for Hangeul Day, and Oct. 1 for the Armed Forces anniversary.

The party explained that the government will consider various factors, including consumer spending and military morale, when making its decision.