Yoon Meets Georgieva, IMF Managing Director Visiting Korea
Korea's Economic Growth Rate 2.2% Next Year... Highest Among Developed Countries
Exchanged Views on Women's Workforce Participation and Windfall Tax Issues
President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 15th, "The Korean government prioritizes public welfare and price stability in its policies, and under a sound fiscal stance, it is minimizing government intervention while promoting the restoration of a private-led, market-centered economic ecosystem. Recently, signs of economic recovery, such as a rebound in exports, have also appeared."
The presidential office reported that President Yoon made these remarks during a meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon.
Managing Director Georgieva visited Korea to attend a two-day international conference jointly hosted by the Korean government and the IMF, which began the day before.
President Yoon welcomed her first visit to Korea, saying, "I welcome Managing Director Georgieva’s first visit to Korea. I heard that she participated in various events, including the Korea-IMF joint international conference, the World Women Directors Forum, and a meeting with Korean university students. I hope these engagements provided a valuable opportunity to better understand Korea’s economy and society."
He also emphasized, "Given the high external dependence of the Korean economy, we are steadily advancing structural reforms to improve the economic framework alongside sales diplomacy aimed at expanding exports and orders and attracting investment for our companies."
Managing Director Georgieva praised Korea’s efforts, saying, "The Korean government’s private-sector-centered economic management and efforts to maintain fiscal soundness align with the IMF’s policy recommendations." She highly evaluated Korea’s crisis management efforts, including easing financial market instability, ensuring a soft landing for the real estate market, and responding to inflation.
She added, "Next year, the Korean economy is expected to rebound due to improvements in the semiconductor sector and economic recovery in China. Specifically, Korea’s economic growth rate for next year is projected at 2.2%, which is the highest growth rate among advanced countries."
Managing Director Georgieva also suggested, "It is necessary to more actively address structural issues such as demographic changes and climate change going forward."
President Yoon agreed with Managing Director Georgieva’s emphasis on expanding women’s participation in the labor market at the World Women Directors Forum, explaining, "Korea is also actively supporting women’s economic participation." He further projected that, considering the potential of Korean female talent, the proportion of female CEOs in the corporate sector will increase soon.
They also exchanged views on international economic issues such as the pandemic and windfall taxes. Regarding windfall taxes on the banking sector, Managing Director Georgieva noted, "Some advanced countries have imposed windfall taxes on banks, but in Canada, there were side effects such as a decrease in dividend-related revenue due to a drop in bank stock prices. I support voluntary cooperative approaches within the banking sector rather than windfall taxes."
President Yoon praised, "I highly appreciate Managing Director Georgieva’s efforts to strengthen support for low-income countries facing difficulties due to COVID-19 and war since her appointment." He pledged, "Under the vision of Korea as a global pivotal state, we will pursue various efforts, including IMF trust fund support, to contribute to the international community."
Managing Director Georgieva emphasized, "Korea and the IMF are exemplary cases of international cooperation," and added, "We will continue to maintain close cooperation going forward."
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