S. Korea's 2010 growth higher than government forecast: OECD head

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy is expected to perform better
than its government forecast for next year, the head of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday.

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria made the prediction during a press conference
held in Seoul on the sidelines of a seminar attended by international analysts
and policymakers. His views come as the Paris-based organization plans to unveil
its growth outlooks for major economies on Thursday.
Currently, the South Korean government is forecasting that its economy will grow
4 percent next year after contracting 1.5 percent this year.
The economy has made a better-than-expected rebound in recent months from the
worst downturn in more than a decade thanks to government-led stimulus measures
including tax cuts and increased fiscal spending.
Gurria's optimistic view comes as policymakers here cautiously predict that the
economy could avoid negative growth for this year after it grew a surprise 2.9
percent during the third quarter from three months earlier.
Gurria, however, noted that the government needs to maintain its economy-boosting
measures as growth is still at an early stage and is mostly driven by the
state-led stimulus measures.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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