What are the IMF’s latest potential growth projections for South Korea?

The IMF projects South Korea’s potential growth at 2.14 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2027. The figures mark consecutive annual increases, which had not occurred in about 40 years.

Why did President Lee Jae Myung call South Korea’s potential growth outlook a dramatic rebound?

Lee described the upward revision as a dramatic rebound in the Korean economy’s basic physical strength because the projections showed back-to-back annual increases for the first time since the late 1980s. He called the trend a very positive sign.

What did President Lee say South Korea should do after the improvement in its potential growth outlook?

Lee said South Korea should concentrate on sustaining the improved growth trend and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared fairly by all.

Lee welcomes 'dramatic rebound' in potential growth outlook

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Summary

President Lee Jae Myung welcomed on Tuesday an upward revision of South Korea’s potential growth rates, calling it a dramatic rebound in the economy’s basic strength. The IMF projected potential growth at 2.14 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2027. Lee said the consecutive annual increases were the first in about 40 years and urged sustained growth with fairly shared benefits.

Key Facts

The IMF revised South Korea’s potential growth projections to 2.14 percent for this year and 2.2 percent for 2027.
The projections represent the first consecutive annual increases in South Korea’s potential growth rate in about 40 years.
Lee linked the previous period of back-to-back increases to low oil prices, low interest rates and a strong won against the U.S. dollar.
Lee said South Korea should focus on sustaining growth and ensuring that its benefits are shared fairly by all.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 20, 2026 2:50 pm KST

President Lee Jae Myung, center, attends a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday welcomed a rise in the country's potential growth rates as "a dramatic rebound" in the national economy's "basic physical strength."

Lee wrote the message on his X account, referring to a recent upward revision of the country's potential growth rate projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to 2.14 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2027.

The figures mark the first consecutive annual increases in about 40 years.

The president "welcomed" the projections, describing them as marking the first back-to-back increases since the late 1980s, when the country benefited from low oil prices, low interest rates and a strong won against the U.S. dollar.

"It marks a dramatic rebound in the Korean economy's basic physical strength," he said, describing the trend as "a very positive sign."

Based on the improvements, Korea will have to focus on sustaining growth and ensuring that its benefits are shared fairly by all, he noted.

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