Choi Sang-mok "High Economic Uncertainty... May Speed Up 'Property Supply'"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok said he could speed up the implementation of real estate supply measures to cope with economic uncertainty stemming from South Korea's third-quarter growth rate, which came below expectations.

Speaking to correspondents after attending the IMF's annual meeting in Washington, Choi said that real GDP grew only 0.1% in the third quarter and that annual growth was likely to fall short of the government's forecast of 2.6%.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi said that while domestic demand is on the mend, exports are short of growth itself, and that overall growth engines have fallen short of expectations.

"We believe that growth is downside risk and uncertainty has grown in the future," he said, stressing that he would monitor economic trends with special caution and come up with supplementary measures if necessary.

Choi said the construction sector was weak, especially in the domestic sector, adding that speeding up the implementation of the property supply measures announced in August could also be an option.