The government will put the top priority of its second-half economic policy on kick-starting slumping exports and bringing the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak under control at an early date, a ranking official said Tuesday.

South Korea remains gripped by the sluggishness of exports, a key growth engine. Since its outbreak on May 20, the viral disease has claimed 19 lives and sickened 154 people, throwing cold water on consumer spending that has begun to show signs of recovery.

"The government will take active steps to revive exports in the second half and will implement measures to stabilize excessive market volatility that can hurt trade," Joo Hyung-hwan, the first vice finance minister, said in a meeting with chief financial officers from key businesses, such as Samsung Electronics Co.

Asia's fourth-largest economy reported a 10.9 percent drop in outbound shipments in May, an acceleration from an 8 percent decline tallied the month before.

The contraction in exports along with slower-than-expected consumer demand and industrial output are feared to push down the economy's growth to the low 3 percent range this year. In 2014, South Korean growth reached 3.3 percent.

"Exports must play a central role in growth in the coming months," the senior official stressed.

He added that measures are being examined that will ease the foreign exchange imbalance that is cited for unfavorable exchange rates. This development, caused by the country's persistent current account surplus, makes South Korean products more expensive abroad.

Joo called on the CFOs to follow through on their investment plans for this year, despite the MERS scare.

South Korea's top 30 conglomerates pledged to increase capital investment by 6.3 percent on-year in 2015. Investment can fuel consumption and industrial output that is vital for growth.

The vice finance minister also said South Korean companies should do more to engage in the Chinese yuan-based trade that can transform the country into a key international hub.

"Local companies should make greater use of the yuan as a medium of trade, which could fuel trade and investment and reduce transaction costs that benefit all sides," he said. "Since the country started direct won-yuan trading late last year, the average amount traded surged 3.8 times as of May."

Average daily transactions came to $3.3 billion last month, up from just $880 million in December.

He pointed out that the renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor quota held by local financial institutions surpassed the 30 billion-yuan ($4.8 billion) mark as of late April. This placed it second after Hong Kong and above Singapore and Britain that have RQFII arrangements. (Yonhap)