South Korea's finance minister has said that taming inflation is still a priority for Asia's No. 4 economy, rather than taking measures to revitalize the slowing economy.
"Stabilizing inflation is still a priority that cannot be missed," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during his meeting with reporters in New York on Tuesday. "The growth in prices will slow down the road in general, but it will take some time to reach a 2 percent level as targeted by the Bank of Korea."
Choo's remark came after South Korea's consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 4.2 percent in March from a year earlier. Inflation stayed above 2 percent, the central bank's inflation target over the medium term, for the 24th straight month in March.
The finance minister has been suggesting that the government will shift its focus to revitalize the slowing economy, once inflation loses steam.
Earlier this week, the central bank held its key interest rate steady at 3.5 percent for the second straight time as inflation appears to be easing and concerns are rising over an economic slowdown.
The finance minister reiterated his view that an extra budget is necessary to buoy the economy, claiming its impact would be "very limited."
On South Korea's slowing exports, Choo said outbound shipments are expected to gradually recover, although a sharp rebound is not likely.
"Trade deficits will gradually narrow, although it may take some more time to become a surplus," Choo added.
The country's exports fell for the sixth consecutive month in March due to weak global demand for semiconductors, with the country suffering a trade deficit for 13 months in a row.
Source: Yonhap News Agency