Korea's finance ministry has slashed the country's growth outlook for this year to 3.3 percent, citing persisting external uncertainties stemming from Europe.
The downward revision of nearly half-a-percentage point, came during a press briefing on Thursday.
It puts the government's outlook in line with estimates by other international and domestic financial institutions, as most expect Korea to undergo slower growth due to the persisting eurozone debt crisis.


[Interview : Bahk Jae-wan, Minister
Ministry of Strategy & Finance] "Up until last year, most expected the eurozone debt crisis to be resolved by the first half of this year. However, the crisis has become a long-term threat and we must accept it as an invariable to our economy."


However, the overall outlook still isn't all that bad.
The ministry expects the number of new workers to reach 400-thousand this year, up by around 120-thousand from its earlier forecast.
Consumer prices will remain in the two-percent range, thanks to a slower increase in international oil prices, coupled with the government's efforts to curb inflation.
And despite slowing exports, strong performance in the service sector is expected to lead to a current account surplus of nearly 20 billion U.S. dollars.
For the remaining half of the year, the ministry says it will inject up to 8.5 trillion won, roughly 7-and-a-half billion U.S. dollars to stimulate the economy and stay on top of changes in the global economy.


[Interview : Bahk Jae-wan, Minister
Ministry of Strategy & Finance] "To counter any external uncertainties, the government and the non-governmental sector will work together to systemize the monitoring and countering of possible risks and continue to supplement our contingency plans."


And as one of the measures to accommodate the working class, the finance ministry will work closely with the Bank of Korea and local financial institutions to allow them to take out small-loans more easily and at lower interest rates.


[Reporter : Hwang Sung-hee
ssung86@arirang.co.kr] "The finance ministry expects better global economic conditions in the coming here, and has forecast the Korean economy to expand by 4.3 percent in 2013.
Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News."

Reporter : ssung86@arirang.co.kr