Choo Kyung-ho to Moody's: "Our Economy Will Recover After the Second Half of the Year"

Moody's to Conduct Korea Annual Consultation from 3rd to 5th
Meeting with Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Bank of Korea, Financial Supervisory Service

Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho emphasized to Moody’s that “our economy will gradually recover in the second half of the year.” The international credit rating agency Moody’s began its three-day annual consultation on Korea from today until the 5th. This annual consultation, held for the first time in four years since COVID-19, involves the Moody’s delegation meeting with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Financial Services Commission, Bank of Korea, and Financial Supervisory Service over three days to discuss economic trends, outlooks, and policy responses.

At the meeting with the Moody’s delegation, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho explained Korea’s economic trends and outlook, the 2023 economic policy direction aimed at ‘overcoming the crisis’ and ‘economic leap forward,’ and the impact of recent global banking crises on financial markets, which were key concerns for Moody’s.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo forecasted, “Although high uncertainty in the global economy has persisted since the beginning of this year, the effects of China’s reopening are becoming visible, and advanced economies are gradually recovering, so our economy is expected to show a gradual recovery trend from the second half of the year.” He added, “Inflation has continued to slow down, falling to the 4% range in February this year after peaking in July last year, and consumption is also maintaining a recovery trend.”

He further stated, “The Korean government has announced measures to revitalize domestic demand to support the recovery of consumption and tourism, and is strengthening tax support to promote corporate investment.” He emphasized policy efforts to expand Korea’s medium- to long-term growth potential, including establishing a sound fiscal stance through legislation of fiscal rules, operating a public-private joint regulatory innovation task force, implementing three major structural reforms in labor, education, and pensions, and promoting the New Growth 4.0 strategy. Regarding the recent global banking crisis, he also mentioned, “The exposure of domestic institutions to problematic overseas financial institutions is not large, and the soundness and liquidity of our financial institutions are good, so the stability of domestic financial and foreign exchange markets continues, limiting the impact.”

Moody’s also expressed interest in the Korean government and related industries’ medium- to long-term industrial outlook and strategies in response to the CHIPs Act and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, “Much of the uncertainty regarding the impact on our industries due to recent U.S. government measures has been resolved,” and added, “We will continue to closely monitor related trends and maintain consultations with the U.S. government going forward.”

Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Choo Kyung-ho is attending the Emergency Economic Measures Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 24th, delivering opening remarks. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

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