Is a PF-Induced Financial Crisis Coming? Experts Conduct In-Depth Diagnosis of Korean Finance

The 1st Asia Economy Chatham House Event

Imjin, President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry SGI (from left), Cho Won-dong, former Chief Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs, Lee Jung-jae, Director and Editorial Advisor of Asia Economy Economic Media School, Kim Dong-won, former Visiting Professor at Korea University, Park Jae-ha, former Vice President of Korea Institute of Finance, and Kwak Young-kwon, Executive Director of Meritz Securities, are posing for a commemorative photo on the 1st at Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, before the 1st Asia Economy Chatham House discussion. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The economic and financial think tank of this publication, 'Asia Economy Chatham House,' was held on the morning of the 1st at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

Under the theme "Will a Project Financing (PF)-Triggered Financial Crisis Occur? An In-Depth Diagnosis of Korean Finance," in-depth discussions were held by Dongwon Kim, former visiting professor at Korea University; Youngkwon Kwak, executive director at Meritz Securities; Jaeha Park, former deputy director at Korea Institute of Finance; Jin Lim, director of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI); and Wondong Cho, former chief economic secretary to the Blue House.

They examined the potential impact of the real estate market downturn, household debt, and financial market turmoil caused by the Lego Land PF securitization default crisis on the Korean economy, and sought countermeasures.

The discussants expressed concerns that the economic recession could continue until the second quarter of 2024, advising the need for the government’s swift policy response and political leadership to support it.

Asia Economy Chatham House sets economic and financial agendas and discusses forecasts and alternatives according to the Chatham House rule, which discloses the list of attendees but keeps speakers’ remarks confidential.