President Moon Jae-in has showed his determination to lead post-COVID economic recovery as the country has set a good example of disease control. “The South Korean economy is expected to be back on track by the first quarter of next year,” he said on Monday. President Moon has placed a great emphasis on economic rebound by introducing stimulus measures such as the so-called “Korean New Deal.” Some experts, however, argue that recent economic indicators should not be considered to be strong predictors of future economic activity given the rising concerns about second waves of the coronavirus.
“Recent indexes suggest a rapid economic recovery from past hardships,” said President Moon at a meeting with his advisors at the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. Citing the growth rate of GDP for the third quarter, he mentioned increase in production, consumption and investment in September and improvement in the consumer confidence and the business climate indexes. “We cannot be complacent as there is a great deal of uncertainty in the global economy with many countries going into lockdown,” the president said. “However, the South Korean economy will recover to pre-COVID levels if the current trend continues into the fourth quarter.”
He went on to say that the government would enhance its efforts to promote the manufacturing industry while improving its competitive edge, adding that the South Korean New Deal package will help innovate the manufacturing sector and promote the country as a manufacturing powerhouse.
Some experts, however, point out that President Moon’s view is too optimistic as the Bank of Korea has not confirmed there has been a V-shaped recovery. Park Yang-su, head of the central bank’s economic statistics department, said, “It is too early to call it a V-shaped recovery.”
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