South Korean public institutions plan to increase their investment this year to a record high of 67 trillion won ($55.6 billion) in an effort to support the economic recovery, a senior government official said Wednesday.

The amount will be higher than the 64.7 trillion-won investment made last year, according to Second Vice Finance Minister Ahn Do-geol.

He said they plan to invest more than 35.5 trillion won, or 53 percent of the total amount, in the first half.

The government said public firms' higher investment is aimed at preemptively dealing with increased economic downside risks and helping the country prepare for the green energy-based and digitalized economy.

The largest share of 37.9 trillion won will be invested in increasing home supply and building more railways and highways. The government said 16.1 trillion won will be spent to build renewable energy-related infrastructure and ensure stable energy supplies.

The Bank of Korea expects the South Korean economy to grow 3 percent this year after the 4 percent growth expansion last year. (Yonhap)