Proceedings of Economic Review Meeting
Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choongsoo held an Economic
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Review meeting with the heads of major institutions and scholars from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on April 27
(Wed)at the Small Conference Room of the Bank of Korea.
Participants
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Kim Joohyun, President of Hyundai Research Institute
Kim Changro, Vice Chairman of Korea Petrochemical Industry Association
Kim Ho, Vice Chairman of Korea Display Industry Association
Jun Joosung, Professor of Ewha Womans Univ.
Jo Hahyun, Professor of Yonsei Univ.
Chae Wook, President of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
(Appendix)
Major Points Discussed
Governor Kim engaged in a wide-ranging exchange of views with
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leading figures from research institutes and academia on recent economic developments and major current issues.
Most of those taking part agreed that the domestic economy was
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extending its upward trend with exports brisk thanks to the recovery of the world economy that was being led by the United States and China.
It was noted that such items as petrochemicals and display panels ㅇ
were enjoying strong export growth, particularly to China.
There was a feeling however that together with any downward ㅇ
movement of the leading composite index (year-on-year), uncertainties over external conditions, including the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and the sovereign debt problems in Europe must be closely followed.
In regard to price movements, the majority of participants took the
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view that their rapid upward pace would still persist for some time to come.
It was argued that even if the situation in the MENA region calms ㅇ
down, it would still be difficult to look for any great decline in international oil prices, given the burgeoning demand from emerging market countries.
There was also a comment that the findings of empirical
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analysis showed that the influence of Chinese inflation on Korean consumer prices had grown stronger of late.
In addition, various opinions were put forward in relation to the
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conduct of macro-economic policies.
In regard to monetary policy, it was pointed out that the stability ㅇ
of inflation expectations was of overriding importance.
On the financial stability side, a comment was made to the effect ㅇ
that the central bank’s function related to macroprudential policy must be better utilized.
As for fiscal policy, attention was drawn to the point that although ㅇ
there were no particular problems with fiscal soundness in the near term, longer-term and structural issues such as aging population should not be ignored.
