South Korea’s finance minister nominee pledges to curb inflation
South Korean finance minister nominee Lee Hyeon-il pledged during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul to fight inflation and support the economic recovery after taking office. This was reported by The Korea Herald.
Signs of economic recovery
Lee said that Asia’s fourth-largest economy is at an important stage amid the artificial intelligence boom. According to him, growing demand for AI services has contributed to an upswing in the semiconductor industry, while exports, investment and other key economic indicators are increasingly showing signs of recovery.
The nominee noted that the country could achieve gross national income of more than $40,000 per capita this year. At the same time, he said, it is necessary to strengthen the economy’s resilience to uncertainty in the global trade order and geopolitical threats, including the war in the Middle East.
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Prices and stability
After taking office, Lee plans to focus on ensuring that the economic recovery improves people’s well-being. He called stabilizing consumer prices the first step in addressing economic inequality.
Among his priorities, the nominee named reducing food costs and stabilizing prices for agricultural, livestock and fishery products, as well as fuel. He also pledged to maintain macroeconomic stability in view of possible volatility in the semiconductor industry cycle and global interest rates.
According to Lee, the finance ministry will seek to secure South Korea’s inclusion in the developed market category in Morgan Stanley Capital International indices and will continue working on the internationalization of the South Korean won. This is intended to allow the currency to be freely held, exchanged and borrowed outside South Korea.
