Choi Sang-mok: "Maintain Friendly Economic Cooperation with Japan's New Cabinet... Closely Monitor China's Influence"

Deputy Prime Minister Chairs Foreign Economic Advisory Meeting
"Middle East Situation, Keeping All Possibilities Open for Swift Response"

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated on the 4th that "a friendly economic cooperation relationship is expected to be maintained" regarding the formation of Japan's new cabinet. Concerning the sluggish domestic demand in the Chinese economy, he said, "We will closely monitor the impact on our economy."

On the same day, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance held the 6th Foreign Economic Advisory Meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Choi to review the impact on and response direction of our economy concerning economic and trade issues in major countries such as Japan and China. The Foreign Economic Advisory Meeting is an ad hoc consultative body introduced in April to gather opinions from experts across various fields and refer to policy formulation in response to global uncertainties.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Choi mentioned that since Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has consistently emphasized the importance of Korea-Japan relations, a friendly economic cooperation relationship is expected to be maintained. However, he added that it is meaningful to continue a thorough analysis of the political situation and economic policies of the new cabinet for effective cooperation between the two countries.

Furthermore, he noted, "Recently, despite favorable export trends, the Chinese economy is showing weak domestic demand," and emphasized, "It is necessary to closely monitor the impact on our economy, including exports to China."

Experts commented that "With Japan, it is possible to continue the friendly Korea-Japan relations of the previous cabinet and expand cooperation into new areas such as local economies and the Korea-Japan Partnership Declaration, in addition to strengthening existing cooperation in semiconductors, startups, and energy sectors."

They also pointed out that China is focusing on domestic demand recovery through stimulus measures announced on the 24th of last month, emphasizing the need to continuously monitor trends related to the Chinese economy, including additional stimulus measures by the Chinese government after the U.S. presidential election in November and the announcement of next year's growth rate forecasts.

Meanwhile, regarding the recent Middle East situation, Deputy Prime Minister Choi stressed, "As a high level of military tension continues, we must keep all possibilities open, closely monitor the impact on our economy, and be prepared to respond swiftly." Experts agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Choi's views and requested a thorough review of the situation's developments and domestic and international market trends.