Economics

South Korea Needs $9 Billion in Extra Spending to Prop Up Economy: Survey

Bloomberg surveys economists on fiscal outlook for this year
Respondents also expect key interest rate to stay at 1.75%

Commuters use mobile devices at a bus stop near Seoul Station at dusk in Seoul, South Korea.
Photographer: Woohae Cho/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Jungah Lee

March 25, 2019 at 8:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in must boost government spending by about 10.5 trillion won ($9.3 billion) more than originally planned this year if he wants to meet his economic growth forecast.

That’s the average estimate from a Bloomberg survey of 10 economists on the size of an extra budget needed for gross domestic product to expand in line with the government’s projection of 2.6-2.7 percent. Estimates ranged from 5 to 15 trillion won. The initial budget for this year is 469.6 trillion won, already an increase of more than 9 percent on the previous year.