Korean economy showing signs of improvement: vice minister

NEW YORK, March 27 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy is showing some signs of improvement as several economic data indicate, although time is needed to gauge whether the economy is bottoming out, a top economic policymaker said Friday.

Some "good" signs for Asia's fourth-largest economy are becoming clear as
economic indicators such as output are estimated to have shown better a
performance in February, Vice Finance Minister Hur Kyung-wook told reporters
here.
Hur is visiting New York before joining an annual meeting of the Inter-American
Development Bank in Medellin, Columbia.
Several sets of economic data show that although it is premature to say the
Korean economy is bottoming out, its sharp fall seems to be slowing, according to
analysts.
South Korea's industrial output rose 1.3 percent in January from a month earlier,
making a rebound for the first time in four months, although compared with a year
earlier production tumbled a record 25.6 percent in January.
Exports, the mainstay of Korea's economy, fell 17.1 percent on-year last month
after plunging a record 33.8 percent in January. The government has predicted the
country's trade surplus may top a record US$4 billion in March thanks to a sharp
drop in imports.
Hur added that although the local economy is likely to post negative growth in
the current quarter, it may be better in the second quarter. But he said it
remains to be seen whether the economy is reaching a trough.
The Korean economy shrank a revised 5.1 percent last quarter from three months
earlier, the worst performance in 11 years. The country is widely expected to
slip into a recession, with the government predicting a 2 percent economic
contraction.
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