Seoul: A senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Sunday that the government could consider an additional supplementary budget in the second half should the Middle East crisis persists. According to Yonhap News Agency, Hong Ik-pyo, the presidential secretary for political affairs, made the remarks in a radio interview, denying the main opposition's claim that the 26.2 trillion-won (US$17.3 billion) extra budget bill, pending a parliamentary review, is aimed at gaining political leverage ahead of the upcoming June 3 local elections. "We are cautiously projecting that if the situation in the Middle East is prolonged, we might need an additional supplementary budget in the second half, even after the current extra budget," Hong said on MBN radio. Hong cited downward revisions of about 0.4 percentage point to South Korea's growth outlook for this year by research institutes at home and abroad, as well as a continued uptrend in fuel prices despite tax cuts.