Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Despite the best efforts last year, the new government of South Korea will be faced with an economic situation far worse than that of five years ago. Before handing over office to Park Geun-hye, in fact, the government led by Lee Myung-bak has sharply revised growth forecasts for 2012 and 2013 downward.
According to economic analysts in the Blue House, the main cause of this situation is due to the debt crisis in Europe and the budgetary problems in the United States, factors that are weighing heavily on global demand. The Ministry of Finance of the Fourth Asian economy has forecast a growth of 2.1% in 2012 (against the previous forecast of 3.3%) and 3% in 2013 (down from 4.3%).
"The economy continues to slow down - the ministry said in a statement - while global demand is hampered by the ongoing crisis in the euro zone and the still present uncertainties." The growth of the gross domestic product of South Korea should continue to be limited in the first half of 2013, but "could improve slightly" in the second half, thanks to the expected recovery in key markets.