Minister Predicts Growth of More Than 4 Pct. Next Year

Strategy and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said yesterday that the Korean economy will grow more than four percent next year.

In a meeting with the directors of economic think tanks, Yoon also said, “Korea’s economy is getting out of crisis within a year since it grew 2.9 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of this year.”

The ministry arranged the meeting to reflect the opinions of public and private institutes in shaping the direction of government economic policy for next year.

“To prepare for the post-crisis era, what we will do from now on is really important,” he said. “With the tight job market, the people are still feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown. A rise in oil and raw material prices during economic recovery will be another factor.”

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also upgraded its forecast for Korea`s growth next year to 4.4 percent from the 3.5 percent growth in June, the highest raise among the organization’s 30 member countries.

For this year, the OECD is expecting Korea to grow 0.1 percent overall, up from the minus 2.2 percent projection made in June. It predicted 4.2 percent growth in 2011.

The OECD also urged Korea to achieve fiscal soundness and boost productivity in the non-manufacturing sector. It said the Korean economy has revived the most among OECD member countries because Seoul has spent six percent of GDP on its economic stimulus package.

The OECD also upgraded its projection for world economic growth from minus 2.2 percent to minus 1.7 percent this year and from 2.3 percent to 3.4 percent for next year. In 2011, the world economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent.

lovesong@donga.com