"Choo Kyung-ho, who said 'Current Account Balance is Fine,' Warns of August Concerns... Issues Arise in Trade, Goods, and Current Account Balance"

'Emergency Macroeconomic and Financial Meeting' Held

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] On the 22nd, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho said, "The current account balance for August may appear somewhat worrisome." This statement came just a month after he mentioned in the National Assembly last month that "the trade balance deficit and the current account balance show different results."

On the same day, at the 'Emergency Macroeconomic and Financial Meeting' held at the Bankers Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated, "Fundamentally, issues with the trade balance, goods balance, and current account balance are gradually emerging."

He added, "Concerns about economic slowdown in major advanced countries and trading partners such as China are increasing, and combined with the semiconductor cycle, this part may be somewhat worse than in the past. Although external energy imports are a problem, there are also issues with export competitiveness, energy inefficiency, and excessive consumption, so separate countermeasures will be prepared for these areas."

Regarding the trade balance deficit, he assessed that there is room for improvement if the situation in major trading countries improves. Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "Our external competitiveness does not suddenly deteriorate within a month or two," and "Recently, the situation in China appears slightly better than last month, so there seems to be some possibility of trade balance improvement." He emphasized, "This should not be viewed in the very short term, and we will devise comprehensive measures with a broad perspective over a long period."

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Choo made remarks suggesting that despite the trade balance deficit, the current account balance was in surplus. On the 29th of last month, he mentioned in the National Assembly that "the trade balance deficit and the current account balance show different results," but less than a month later, this became an 'empty promise.'

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