In terms of the economy, however, it's been a rough year for Korea.<br />Businesses have been reluctant to invest, and consumers reluctant to spend.<br /> That's right. South Korea is also caught in the middle of the trade war between the U.S. and China.<br />So economists have been steadily lowering the estimates for economic growth for 2019.<br />Our Ko Roon-hee has the latest numbers. <br /> Korea's economy in 2019 will grow more slowly than last year... mainly due to weak domestic demand and slower growth in exports.<br /><br /> Domestic demand includes private consumption, public spending and business investment,... and among the three, the picture looks worst in terms of investment. <br /><br />According to a report last month from Hyundai Research Institute, construction investment is expected to fall in the new year by 2-point-9 percent.<br />That's even worse than last year when investment shrank by an estimated 2-point-4 percent. <br /> The figure was dragged down by weaker investment in housing construction... after the government passed stronger measures to curb soaring home prices.<br /><br />Facilities investment, on the other hand, is expected to record positive growth of 0-point-4 percent, up from last year's estimated negative growth. <br /> The report pointed out that growth is still slow... due to shrinking investment in the semiconductor industry.<br />Analysts say it's partly because of lower demand for semiconductors and falling prices.<br /><br />Private consumption isn't looking great this year either.<br />Separate data from the LG Economic Research Institute released last September call for a rise in private consumption of 2-point-6 percent this year... down from last year's estimate of 3 percent. <br />The institute says the sluggish job market has hurt households' purchasing power.<br /><br />Last but not least, exports are forecast to slow down in the new year as well.<br />The Korea Development Institute forecast in November that exports will grow in 2019 by 3-point-7 percent,... which is slower than last year's estimate. <br />Researchers say the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China might hurt global trade... and negatively affect Korea's export-dependent economy.<br /><br /> To get things moving, an economic expert emphasized the importance of deregulation by the government.<br /><br /> "The government should ease regulations, especially in industries related to the 4th industrial revolution, so that companies can easily enter new, promising fields. <br />Private companies should actively invest in research and development to compete with other countries like China."<br /><br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
