Korea - economy grows 2.7% in 2016: ARIRANG NEWS

ARIRANG NEWS

Published on 25 Jan 2017

작년 연간 성장률은 2.7% 머물러

According to the nation's central bank.... Korea recorded 2-point-7 percent growth last year,... logging a slightly slower pace of expansion.... than what the government was hoping for.

Shin Se-min shares with us the report card for Asia's fourth largest economy. The Korean economy grew two-point-seven percent last year,... 

shy of the government's two-point-eight percent target.

With it, the country's economy posted a growth below the three percent mark for two consecutive years. "Private consumption is the main driver of Korea's economic growth... at almost 50 percent. There was a significant on-quarter increase in facility investment,... but slowing domestic demand, from a zero-point-five percent rise in the third quarter to zero-point-two percent in the fourth,... affected the overall growth rate."

The Bank of Korea said the growth was dragged down by a sharp drop in construction investment and a slowdown in private spending,... in the face of a developing political scandal that shook the nation to its core.
And measures like the government's expansionary fiscal policy, worth 9-point-7 billion U.S. dollars,... a nationwide sales event in October,... and temporary designated holidays in May and in June,... relatively garnered some degree of success in stimulating private spending.

And experts say, such government-initiated efforts will likely be necessary, looking ahead this year,... despite a projected pickup in exports, which are showing signs of recovery especially in key items like chips and displays. 

This, as consumer spending will also remain weak. "As there seems to be not much room for increase in wages, there will not be any boost in private consumption. And the wage issue is something that can only be resolved through improved conditions on the employment front. So all in all, things won't be easy this year without the government's extra help." Bracing for such concern,... Korea's finance minister unveiled plans to stabilize the people's livelihoods by frontloading more than 30 percent of the government's 2017 budget - some 72 billion U.S. dollars - in the first quarter,... a method that it has relied on for the past couple of years.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.