Citizens and Experts Agree "Real Estate is the Biggest Risk to the Korean Economy"

2021 Second Half Economic Policy Direction, KDI Survey Results

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] ‘Real estate’ was identified as a major domestic risk factor for the Korean economy.

According to a survey related to the ‘2021 Second Half Economic Policy Direction’ announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 29th, 27 out of 100 general citizens pointed to the ‘real estate market’ as the main risk. Experts (23.1%) also prioritized real estate, aligning with the perception of the general public. This appears to reflect the recent sharp rise in housing prices and the significant increase in loans.

This survey was conducted by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) this month, targeting 1,000 general citizens and 334 economic experts.

Regarding external risk factors, 24.3% of the general public cited ‘US-China conflict,’ while 24.6% of experts recognized the US ‘tapering (asset purchase reduction)’ as the main risk.

The overall perception of the economic situation was generally optimistic, expecting improvement in the second half of the year. However, while 89.9% of experts evaluated the economic situation in the first half as ‘similar or improved,’ only half (50.1%) of the general public shared this view, indicating a significant perception gap. Although macroeconomic indicators showed a rapid recovery trend, it seems to indicate that the economic recovery felt in everyday life is still lagging behind.

As the best policy in the first half, 36.2% of the public and 47.4% of experts chose ‘COVID-19 quarantine response’ as number one. Conversely, for policies needing improvement, 30.5% of the public and 38.4% of experts suggested ‘stabilization of the housing market.’

Regarding the economic policy direction for the second half, 32.5% of the public most hoped for a ‘rapid recovery of the people’s economy.’ The overwhelmingly highest response for the policy to be focused on was ‘support for job creation’ (39.8% of the public and 61.4% of experts). In particular, 60.5% of experts identified ‘maintenance and creation of private sector jobs’ as a key task.

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