Yoon Ja-young is in charge of articles translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times. She is interested in improving the newspaper through AI.
'3 pct. growth achievable'
By Yoon Ja-young
Choi Kyung-hwan Strategy and Finance Minister
By Yoon Ja-young
The country’s finance minister said Friday that it was possible for the country to achieve over 3 percent economic growth next year.
“The economy grew 1.2 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, which is the highest in five years. Private consumption is rebounding and facility investment is continuing the increase,” Strategy and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said in a meeting with the heads of the country’s economic think tanks.
He said consumer sentiment has recovered and so has housing transactions, adding that 3 percent range economic growth would be achievable if this momentum continues.
It contrasts with the outlook of major global investment banks, which expect the Korean economy to grow less than 2.5 percent next year. Hyundai Research Institute suggested 2.8 percent, LG Economic Research Institute 2.7 percent, and Korea Economic Research Institute 2.6 percent.
While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the global economy to grow 3.6 percent next year, the minister pointed to risk factors. On top of the so-called G2 risks, involving a key rate hike in the United States and a slowdown in China, he said uncertainties are expanding due to concern over emerging economies exporting natural resources and terrorist attacks.
“With the global low growth continuing after the 2008 financial crisis, insolvent companies are increasing in globally oversupplied sectors such as shipbuilding, steel and shipping,” he said.
“We should be aware of the fact that the technology gap between Korea and China is narrowing, and that our main exports such as semiconductors, automobiles, and smartphones are being threatened,” he added.
The minister said the government will focus on structural reform and set up a new growth strategy.
“Faced with such challenges, the government will strengthen efforts to enhance economic vitality and concentrate on setting new growth strategy to cope with the structural changes of the global economy.”
He added that as a notable recovery is unlikely for the global economy, the public sector will lead the efforts to boost domestic consumption. The government is scheduled to announce its economic policy for next year in December.