홍남기 "정책공조 중요한 때"…이주열 "정부와 긴밀히 협력"
Seoul's finance chief met with the nation's central banker for the first time since taking on that ministerial post.
While sharing their assessment of the economy and discussed ways to boost growth, the duo also agreed to meet more regularly.
Kim Hyesung shares with us what was discussed.
Korea's new Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and the Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol held their first meeting since Minister Hong took office last week, and they vowed to work closely to tackle domestic and external uncertainties.
"There are many domestic and external risks like household debt, U.S. rate hike, global financial volatility, the U.S.-China trade spat, and so on. We plan to carry out expansionary fiscal policy with our 418 billion U.S. dollar budget, but fiscal policy itself is not enough. Coordination with monetary policies is also important.
The central bank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance have already lowered their growth forecast for the nation to around two-point-seven percent for 2019.
During their 70 minute long luncheon Wednesday, Minister Hong and Governor Lee shared their concerns that a sluggish job market and investment could further weigh on the nation's growth despite solid exports.
Regarding the widely expected rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday morning, Korea time, the finance minister said the government will hold an emergency meeting to monitor and hedge against possible risks.
Overall, the two economic policymakers said finding a new growth engine, increasing economic vitality, and narrowing wealth gap is important.
"The economic policy direction announced Monday shows the government's will to support the economy. The central bank will work closely in various ways to boost Korea's economic vitality."
"The finance minister and the Bank of Korea governor vowed to hold such meetings more often to share their assessments of the economy and coordinate policies to help boost domestic growth.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News."
