Credibility, capability of South Korea's economy helps overcome Covid-19 pandemic slump: Deputy PM

Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS) The credibility and capability of the South Korean economy accumulated prior to the Covid-19 outbreak has helped the export-driven economy overcome the external shock of global pandemic recession, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki has said.

"Whenever the crises came (in the past), fluctuations were big in the external economic and financial sectors because of (the South Korean economy's) high dependence on global trade," Hong, who also serves as Minister of Economy and Finance, told a press conference with foreign media in Seoul.

Compared to the past crises, South Korea's credit assessment indicators showed a significantly "stable" picture this time thanks to the accumulated credibility of the economy and the country's capability to seize opportunities from the crisis, he noted.

The country's foreign currency reserves continued to rise from $443.1 billion at the end of 2020 to $446.1 billion three months later, reaching a record monthly high of $469.2 billion at the end of October this year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Premium on credit default swap, which gauges the country's sovereign credit risk, hit a record low of 17 basis points on August 30, before rising to 21 basis points on December 10.

Hong said the accumulated credibility and capability of the South Korean economy has led to export growth, driving the country's rapid economic recovery from the pandemic shock.

Export, which accounts for about half of the South Korean economy, topped $50 billion for the ninth straight month for the first time, reaching a record monthly high of $60.44 billion in November.

The outbound shipment both in the traditional and new industries grew this year amid increased exports by small and medium-sized enterprises, Hong added.