[Economic Outlook] Will OECD Adjust South Korea's Growth Forecast... Attention on 4th Supplementary Budget Passage

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is set to announce the global economic outlook, including that of South Korea. Attention is focused on whether there will be any changes to this year's growth forecast for Korea, which was revised upward to -0.8% last month.

The Bank of Korea will also release its analysis of corporate management for the second quarter. This statistic provides an estimate of how much corporate profitability has deteriorated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OECD plans to publish the 'Interim Economic Outlook' on the 16th.

Last month, the OECD revised South Korea's growth forecast for this year upward from -1.2% to -0.8% in the '2020 OECD Economic Survey of Korea.' This was the highest growth rate among the 37 OECD member countries.

However, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased significantly since then, there is growing interest in whether the growth rate will be lowered again.

The National Assembly will also review the fourth supplementary budget bill worth 7.8 trillion won next week. It is of interest whether the supplementary budget bill will be passed in the National Assembly on the 18th as the government and ruling party have targeted.

The Bank of Korea will release the second quarter 'Corporate Management Analysis' report on the 15th. This report is based on a sample survey of about 4,000 companies. In the first quarter, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, the operating profit margin relative to sales fell by 1.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, the corporate debt ratio (88%) increased compared to the previous quarter (84.3%). There are concerns that the deterioration in profitability and financial soundness of domestic companies due to the COVID-19 shock has continued into the second quarter.

The deadline for homeowners with one house who took out mortgage loans to buy a house in real estate regulation areas to dispose of their existing home within 'two years' is approaching from next week. Accordingly, financial authorities plan to work with financial institutions to check whether loan regulations have been properly followed.

According to the September 13, 2018 measures, single-homeowners had to sign an agreement with financial institutions to dispose of their existing home within two years in regulated areas such as speculative areas, speculative overheating districts, and adjustment target areas to be eligible for mortgage loans.

Even those without a home could obtain mortgage loans to purchase homes exceeding 900 million won in regulated areas on the condition of moving in within two years. The assessment of whether the agreement has been fulfilled begins on the 14th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.