Bank of Korea Forecasts 3% Growth This Year
22 January, 2018
The Bank of Korea raised its forecast for Korea's economic growth to 3 percent this year and 2.9 percent for next year.
At a press conference on Thursday, BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol told reporters that Korea's GDP is expected to grow 3 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous forecast of 2.9 percent last October.
The BOK pointed to rising exports driven by the recovery of the global economy. It added that the growth rate will rise by a further 0.2 percentage points once the number of Chinese tourists recovers.
The number of Chinese visitors decreased from 8 million to 4 million last year due to China's unofficial boycott over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense Battery from the U.S. here, shaving an estimated 0.3-0.4 percentage points off economic growth.