홍남기 "민간 경제 활력 제고, 기업 고용창출력 확충 절실"<br /><br />South Korea's new Minister of Economy and Finance, Hong Nam-ki, has laid out his economic policies for the country on Wednesday in two ministerial-level meetings.<br />Our Kim Hyesung reports. <br />The key is to raise economic vitality and economic fundamentals.<br />At the first economy-related minister's meeting since he took office, the new finance minister Hong Nam-ki said he will continue carrying out President Moon Jae-in's three key policies of income-led growth, innovative growth and building a fair economy. <br />But he added that given the current economic difficulties, like sluggish job growth and a widening wealth gap, his team will focus on raising economic vitality and fundamentals through structural reform and cooperation with the private sector.<br />"The government will play a supporting role for the private sector. We will improve policies that have somewhat differed from the market's expectations. For instance, the minimum wage hike and the 52-hour work week. We have included complementary measures to adjust the pace of change."<br />Minister Hong also said the government will front-load next year's 416 billion U.S. dollar budget so that planned investments can be carried out quickly and help boost the economy.<br />He also vowed to strengthen inclusive growth to support young people and the self-employed, and to address challenges like the low fertility rate and aging society. <br />On the same day, Minister Hong also presided over another ministerial-level meeting, joined by the ministers of foreign affairs and trade... in which he layed out policies to navigate the country through external economic challenges.<br />He pointed to rising interest rates in the U.S. and the U.S.-China trade dispute as some of those challenges and said his economic team will run contingency plans to address volatility in the financial markets. <br />On the trade front, Minister Hong vowed to diversify Korea's trading partners and work to get exemptions from the U.S. on auto tariffs.<br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News. <br />
