Economic growth forecast down to 2.2% this year and 1.9% next year

The outlook for our economy has deteriorated to the extent that the benchmark interest rate has been 'surprisingly' cut.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) today (28th) announced a revised economic outlook that has been revised downward.

Growth this year was 2.2% and growth next year was 1.9%, down 0.2%p from previous projections.

The slowdown in export growth was largely due to the still moderate recovery in domestic demand.

The Bank of Korea explained that a downward revision of the growth rate is inevitable as export growth is expected to be lower than expected due to intensifying competition in key industries and strengthening protectionism.

In particular, economic uncertainty has grown depending on the direction of the new U.S. government's economic policy.

Analysts say that Trump's announcement of a tariff hike reflects concerns that the Korean economy, which is highly dependent on exports, could be directly hit.