BOK head repeats concerns over yen's slide

SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top central banker said Friday that the yen's weakness is feared to have far-reaching impacts on Korea's overall industries, necessitating authorities' measures to cope with it. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo said that authorities are watching the yen's movement with concern, adding that the yen's weakness could generate negative impacts on the Korean economy down the road. "The yen's weakness could have considerable impacts on (Korea's) industries ... We have to think about how to cope with it," the governor said ahead of holding a monthly meeting with heads of local banks. His remarks came as the yen has been under downward pressure to the dollar, driven by Japan's powerful monetary easing. Korea's exports fared well by growing 3.2 percent on-quarter in the first quarter despite the yen's weakness, but experts said that the negative impacts by the yen's slid on Seoul's exports could be visible from the second quarter. Meanwhile, the governor said that the first-quarter growth data indicated that the Korean economy is underperforming its long-term potential growth. The BOK said Thursday that the Korean economy grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, quickening from a 0.3 percent on-quarter gain in the fourth quarter of last year. The first-quarter figures surpassed the central bank's earlier projection of 0.8 percent and topped market expectations. But the government said that the data should not be interpreted as signs of the economic recovery, adding that concerns about a low-growth trend persist as the quarterly growth remained less than 1 percent for the eighth straight quarter. Apparently mindful of criticism that the central bank and the government have deep division over growth projection, Gov. Kim said that there are shared views that the economic output is likely to underperform its growth potential for a considerable time. sooyeon@yna.co.kr (END)