Shinsegae Group has raised this year’s investment to 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion), its largest-ever sum, with the aim of boosting the sluggish domestic economy, the nation’s second-biggest retailer said Monday.

The investment is expanded from 2 trillion won announced earlier this year and is up 10 percent from last year’s 2.2 trillion won, according to group officials.

“Despite economic uncertainties in Korea and abroad, we have decided to invest more actively in order to help the sluggish economy get back on track,” said group vice chairman Chung Yong-jin.

“Considering we will be focusing on domestic retail businesses, most of the new investment is expected to lead to new jobs.”

The group, which already invested 1.5 trillion won in the first half of this year, plans to invest an additional 1 trillion won in the coming months under the new budget plan.

Most of the new spending will go to new shopping mall projects by the group affiliated Shinsegae Department Store branches in Busan, Daegu and Hanam in Gyeonggi Province, officials said.

Another flagship unit, E-Mart, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, is expected to focus more on renovation work and online operations due to tougher regulations on store expansion.

Following the employment of 17,000 workers in the first half, the group plans to hire an additional 7,000 in the latter half. They include 11,000 salespeople at retail outlets who were elevated to regular worker status in April and May.

Last year, the group hired 8,000 people.

“We have found that work efficiency increases when irregular workers are transferred to regulars. We plan to continue efforts to increase regular workers,” said a Shinsegae official.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)