Finance ministry predicts economy to grow 0.5 pct in Q4

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy is expected to grow 0.5 percent
during the fourth quarter from three months earlier, a senior economic
policymaker said Thursday.

The provisional forecast was made by Yoon Jong-won, head of the finance
ministry's economic policy bureau, during his briefing on the government's annual
economic management plan.
In the third quarter, the nation's gross domestic product expanded 3.2 percent
from three months earlier following 0.1 percent and 2.6 percent expansions in the
first and second quarters, respectively.
For all of 2009, the ministry predicted that the economy will grow 0.2 percent
before expanding 5 percent next year.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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