S. Korea backs stimulus steps until firm recovery

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister called for the
international community to stick to an expansionary policy stance until the
global economy shows signs of a solid recovery, Seoul officials said Sunday.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun also noted that it is too early to withdraw
stimulus measures that countries introduced over the past year, in light of
uncertainties and downside risks facing the global economy, according to the
Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
The comments were made during meetings with the minister's counterparts and
central bankers from 20 leading and emerging economies that ran for two days
until Saturday in London.
"We need to keep an expansionary macroeconomic policy until signs of a solid
global recovery materialize, and those expanded fiscal spending measures promised
during the April summit in London should be executed without delay," Yoon was
quoted as saying during the gathering.
Saying it is "premature" to talk about when and how to take back expansionary
measures, Yoon called for each country to step up cooperation and prepare
"in-advance" for a so-called exit strategy in such a way as to ease market
uncertainty and stave off a possible double dip of the global economy, according
to the ministry.
The London meeting was held to review executions of agreements made in previous
summit talks, and discuss how to strengthen the global financial system to
achieve sustainable growth in the wake of last summer's turbulence.
Participants also used the gathering to fine-tune agendas for the upcoming
Pittsburgh summit talks between their leaders late this month, the ministry said.
Concluding the two-day event, all sides agreed to keep in place expansionary
fiscal and monetary measures until the economy shows marked signs of a rebound
and called for each nation to provide necessary support to the financial system,
the ministry said.
South Korea co-chairs the international forum along with Britain and Brazil under
a troika system. It is pushing to host the fourth G20 summit talks in South Korea
in April next year. The venue will likely be determined during the Pittsburgh
meeting to be held from Sept. 24-25.
Yoon tried to enlist support among G20 countries during the meeting for South
Korea's hosting of the summit talks next year, according to the ministry.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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