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| ▲ Finance minister Choo Kyung-ho delivers a speech at a forum held on the southern resort island of Jeju on July 12, 2023, in this photo provided by the finance ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
finance minister-inflation
Finance minister expects inflation to stay at 2 percent level next year
SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief economic policymaker painted a positive outlook for the economy Wednesday and projected inflation to stay at the 2 percent level through next year.
Remarks by Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho came a week after government data showed that consumer price growth came in at 2.7 percent in June, slowing for a fifth straight month and falling below 3 percent for the first time in 21 months.
"It will stay in the mid or high 2 percent range in the second half," Choo said in a forum held on the southern resort island of Jeju. "The end of the tunnel is not far away."
Choo said that after falling below 2.7 percent in July, consumer prices may temporarily rise in August and September due to seasonal factors. He said they will likely stabilize from then onward and stay in the 2 percent range next year.
Choo also painted an optimistic outlook for domestic chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. that have recently suffered substantial losses.
"The semiconductor industry is in the phase of bottoming out and appears to be at the very bottom level," Choo said.
The finance minister still warned of lingering uncertainties, including a global financial recession and high interest rates, and called for all-out efforts to overcome such setbacks.
"They say that the chip industry will recover but there is no guarantee," he said. "If we fall into these, we will be eternally flopped down in the tunnel, which is why we have to make an all-out effort to get out."
The finance minister reaffirmed that the government will not consider drawing up a supplementary budget to boost the economy.
Choo has stressed the importance of the private sector in revitalizing the economy. Last week, he said the country will utilize spare funds to cope with falling tax revenue and emphasized that the economic recovery should be led by the private sector, instead of by government support.
"Since the beginning of the year, the opposition party has been calling for an extra budget," Choo said. "We can't do it. Finance should be sound."
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