ID :
68030
Sat, 06/27/2009 - 18:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/68030
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(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on June 27) - Brighter outlook
If the government forecast is right, then the nation's short-term economic
prospects could not be better. The government says the economy, whose contraction
is projected to be arrested at 1.5 percent this year, will grow 4 percent next
year.
The government says the nation will be able to keep the consumer price index
below the 3 percent level and generate a $25 billion current account surplus this
year. As the economy grows at a higher rate, it says, the current account surplus
will fall to $8 billion next year, but inflation will be at a similar level.
The 2009 projections, made on Thursday, reflect substantial improvements in the
economy. In its April outlook, the government forecast a 2 percent decline in
gross domestic product and a $16 billion current account surplus.
Due credit for a speedier recovery must be given to Finance Minister Yoon
Jeung-hyun and Lee Seong-tae, governor of the Bank of Korea, who are striving to
pull the nation out of the global financial crisis by coordinating fiscal and
monetary policies.
Still, caution is advised, given that much will depend on what the global economy
will be like in the months ahead.
Moreover, the International Monetary Fund and other global financial institutions
are far less sanguine about Korea's economic outlook, though they tout Korea as
one of the first countries in the world to recover from the global financial
crisis.
Of great concern to the general public and economic experts is what action the
government will take post-crisis.
The government, which says it will keep an expansionary fiscal policy until it is
confident that recovery is on a firm footing, is opposed to the idea of the
central bank tightening its monetary policy anytime soon.
But both the government and the central bank will have to start developing an
exit plan. It is necessary to tame the inflationary pressure that will build once
recovery gets into full swing, given the abundant liquidity available in the
market. The finance minister and the central bank governor are urged to reconcile
their respective policies as they have done in the past.
(END)
prospects could not be better. The government says the economy, whose contraction
is projected to be arrested at 1.5 percent this year, will grow 4 percent next
year.
The government says the nation will be able to keep the consumer price index
below the 3 percent level and generate a $25 billion current account surplus this
year. As the economy grows at a higher rate, it says, the current account surplus
will fall to $8 billion next year, but inflation will be at a similar level.
The 2009 projections, made on Thursday, reflect substantial improvements in the
economy. In its April outlook, the government forecast a 2 percent decline in
gross domestic product and a $16 billion current account surplus.
Due credit for a speedier recovery must be given to Finance Minister Yoon
Jeung-hyun and Lee Seong-tae, governor of the Bank of Korea, who are striving to
pull the nation out of the global financial crisis by coordinating fiscal and
monetary policies.
Still, caution is advised, given that much will depend on what the global economy
will be like in the months ahead.
Moreover, the International Monetary Fund and other global financial institutions
are far less sanguine about Korea's economic outlook, though they tout Korea as
one of the first countries in the world to recover from the global financial
crisis.
Of great concern to the general public and economic experts is what action the
government will take post-crisis.
The government, which says it will keep an expansionary fiscal policy until it is
confident that recovery is on a firm footing, is opposed to the idea of the
central bank tightening its monetary policy anytime soon.
But both the government and the central bank will have to start developing an
exit plan. It is necessary to tame the inflationary pressure that will build once
recovery gets into full swing, given the abundant liquidity available in the
market. The finance minister and the central bank governor are urged to reconcile
their respective policies as they have done in the past.
(END)
