‘Inflation will peak this year,’ says IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that Korea’s import growth will drop near zero in 2023.

At a press conference under the theme of “Global economy and the Republic of Korea," Krishna Srinivasan, the director of IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, said that Korea’s imports would stagnate next year. He projected that Korea’s import growth, which stands in the high 3% range, will drop near zero percent.

“The South Korean economy has been considerably influenced by the real global economy and financial market,” Mr. Srinivasan said. “Terms of trade shocks and U.S.’s austerity measures are causing a negative impact.” He added that the IMF adjusted downward Korea’s economic projection for next year by 0.9 percentage points to 2 percent.

“Consumer price growth is decreasing from the previous month, which means that the inflation will peak this year and will be gradually reduced to its target level in 2024. It is important to take austerity measures to respond to inflation head-on, although there will be some adverse impact on growth,” Mr. Srinivasan advised. “To my knowledge, the South Korean government’s debt has increased to near 55 percent of GDP. The government should set the standard for fiscal policy over the medium term and keep the confidence.”


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