Head of S. Korea's top business lobby says economy will get worse

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- The head of South Korea's largest business lobby
painted a pessimistic outlook for the local economy on Thursday amid the
deepening global economic slump.

"I shoulder heavy responsibility because the economy will be worse than expected
throughout this year," Cho Suck-rai, chairman of the Federation of Korean
Industries, told reporters as he was re-elected to head the powerful lobbying
group representing local conglomerates, commonly called "chaebol."
"But, I will do my best to help the nation overcome the economic crisis," Cho said.
Cho is also the chairman of Hyosung Group, a business conglomerate with interests
ranging from chemicals and information technology to construction.
Hit by the global economic downturn, South Korea's export-oriented economy is
headed for its first recession in 11 years.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun has predicted the economy will shrink 2 percent
this year, while the International Monetary Fund has forecast a 4-percent
contraction.
In the final quarter of 2008, the economy contracted 3.4 percent from the same
period a year ago, the Bank of Korea said last month. For all of last year, the
economy expanded just 2.5 percent, compared with 5.1 percent growth in 2007.
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