Gov't economic advisor says economy could continue to weaken throughout the year
- 5 years ago
Amid growing concerns over the health of the Korean economy,... the president's top aide for economic affairs says the country faces further challenges.
He says the slowdown of the global economy and prolonged trade disputes.... could be a source of headwinds in the latter half of the year.
Park Hee-jun has the details.
The South Korean economy could continue to stagnate for longer than expected.
The President's Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs, Yoon Jong-won told reporters at the Blue House on Friday,... that the Korean economy faces growing uncertainties,... and they could also affect the second half of the year.
"There is more uncertainty abroad than we expected. The global economy is in a downtrend, while global trade and manufacturing are shrinking due to worsening trade frictions."
Data show that business sentiment in the manufacturing sector is still on a downtrend,... though there was a slight increase in the first quarter.
South Korea also reported its first current account deficit in seven years in April... at 660-million U.S. dollars.
But Yoon says the decline is temporary,... caused by a drop in exports and a rise in dividends paid to foreign investors.
He expects it to rebound within the year.
On the employment front,... 200-thousand jobs have been added this year and the number of youth employed continues to increase.
However, jobs for key groups of workers in their 30s and 40s are disappearing.
Some of the most promising figures are seen in the growth of new industries.
Exports in electric cars, secondary batteries and bio-health are going up.
And those fields are seeing new companies being started as well.
The administration plans to keep nurturing these industries to drive the economy back up.
But the secretary also points to the 5-point-8 billion dollar supplementary budget bill... as a key part of the solution.
"Economic growth can be expanded and some 10-thousand to 20-thousand jobs created if the supplementary budget is passed quickly. If it isn't passed, we are missing the chance to add these jobs."
The government will reveal a set of strategies this month,... that could help revive the manufacturing industry.
It will also sequentially announce plans for each industry's innovative growth,... beginning with future cars in August.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
He says the slowdown of the global economy and prolonged trade disputes.... could be a source of headwinds in the latter half of the year.
Park Hee-jun has the details.
The South Korean economy could continue to stagnate for longer than expected.
The President's Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs, Yoon Jong-won told reporters at the Blue House on Friday,... that the Korean economy faces growing uncertainties,... and they could also affect the second half of the year.
"There is more uncertainty abroad than we expected. The global economy is in a downtrend, while global trade and manufacturing are shrinking due to worsening trade frictions."
Data show that business sentiment in the manufacturing sector is still on a downtrend,... though there was a slight increase in the first quarter.
South Korea also reported its first current account deficit in seven years in April... at 660-million U.S. dollars.
But Yoon says the decline is temporary,... caused by a drop in exports and a rise in dividends paid to foreign investors.
He expects it to rebound within the year.
On the employment front,... 200-thousand jobs have been added this year and the number of youth employed continues to increase.
However, jobs for key groups of workers in their 30s and 40s are disappearing.
Some of the most promising figures are seen in the growth of new industries.
Exports in electric cars, secondary batteries and bio-health are going up.
And those fields are seeing new companies being started as well.
The administration plans to keep nurturing these industries to drive the economy back up.
But the secretary also points to the 5-point-8 billion dollar supplementary budget bill... as a key part of the solution.
"Economic growth can be expanded and some 10-thousand to 20-thousand jobs created if the supplementary budget is passed quickly. If it isn't passed, we are missing the chance to add these jobs."
The government will reveal a set of strategies this month,... that could help revive the manufacturing industry.
It will also sequentially announce plans for each industry's innovative growth,... beginning with future cars in August.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.