Cheong Wa Dae calls IMF growth upgrade a 'positive signal' for Korea

Cheong Wa Dae on Friday welcomed the IMF's decision to raise its growth forecast for the South Korean economy this year to 2.6 percent from 1.9 percent, and its projection of 2.5 percent growth next year, calling the revisions a "positive signal."

Lee Dong-jin, the presidential secretary for growth and economy, made the remarks in an interview on the "Fact Mill" program at the Cheong Wa Dae Chunchugwan open studio. "People had worried whether this year would be a one-time blip, but this shows that Korea's growth momentum is not a one-off and looks set to continue — in that sense, it is a very positive signal," he said.

Lee also addressed the country's potential growth rate, saying it stood at around 5 percent in 2000 before falling steadily. "It has reportedly dropped to below 2 percent, but our government has set a goal to reverse that decline," he said. "I believe the overall trend now presents us with an opportunity for a turnaround."

Lee added that the government intended to prove the IMF forecast wrong — on the upside. "When making projections, the IMF does not factor in the government's economic policy direction because it lacks concrete substance at that stage," he said. "The forecast of 2.6 percent was made without those policies reflected. Our resolve is to implement policy properly and push growth above 2.6 percent, so that the IMF forecast turns out to be too low."

On inflation, Lee said the average consumer price inflation rate between March and June, a period that coincided with the Middle East war, was 2.8 percent. "During that same period, the United States recorded 3.8 percent and the OECD average was 4.2 percent," he said. "We cannot stop there — we will do everything we can to keep consumer price inflation within 3 percent."

Lee also said one of the government's core mottos was "growth for all." "It will be important to find ways to give more economic actors and more citizens — across regions — the opportunity to benefit from growth, in a manner befitting that goal," he said.