Even Boom Economies Can Use a Break. Ask South Korea

For South Korea’s economy, it’s not quite a case of first in, first out. But it could be close: Despite some bullish growth forecasts, interest-rate cuts are coming. The central bank took laudable early steps to contain inflation, while the Federal Reserve still insisted that climbing prices would be a “transitory” phenomenon. Now is the time for Seoul to relax — a bit.

There’s little question that the country has had a strong run in recent years. An export powerhouse, especially in semiconductors, it prospered during the work-from-home regime that typified the early stages of the pandemic. More recently, it emerged as a winner from the artificial intelligence boom. The labor market is resilient; unemployment is below 3%.