Gov't ready to tame inflationary pressure: finance minister

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- The government is prepared to take active measures to
control inflationary pressure caused by the recent spike in prices for
agricultural goods, the finance minister said Wednesday.
Speaking at a weekly meeting of economic policymakers, Yoon Jeung-hyun said that
the sharp rise in consumer prices last month is putting a burden on middle- and
low-income households across the country.
Consumer prices soared 3.6 percent on-year in September, while gaining 1.1
percent compared to the previous month, as bad weather conditions wreaked havoc
on output of vegetables, fruits and some fish products.
"Seoul has implemented various measures to deal with inflation, but there is a
need to take preemptive measures to make certain that the general public is not
hurt by a rise in prices of various necessities," Yoon said.
He called on other government ministries to pay close attention to developments
that can affect consumer prices, so immediate actions can be taken.
Touching on the overall economy, Yoon said that South Korea is continuing to
recover from last year's slump, despite downside risks related to slowing growth
in the country's trading partners such as the United States and China. He said
foreign exchange rate issues needed to be monitored as well since this could have
considerable impact on trade.
Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to pull off 5.8 percent on-year growth
this year from just a 0.2 percent gain tallied in 2009, mainly due to a surge in
exports and rise on domestic spending.
The finance minister, meanwhile, said that the recent International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and World Bank meeting in Washington dealt with various issues that will be
touched on at the G-20 summit meeting slated for Nov. 11-12 in Seoul.
In order to make the upcoming summit a success, there is a need for closer
cooperation with other G-20 countries, and the IMF that is trying to carry out
reforms to its governance structure, he said.