APD | South Korean economy expected to hard hit by coronavirus

By APD writerAlice

South Korea’s economy may be hard hit by a new strain of coronavirus orginated from China’s Wuhan city unless the epidemic is contained swiftly, said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday.

The coronavirus epidemic has had a limited impact on the Korean economy so far, but it is difficult to determine how the virus will affect the nation's economy, Hong told a meeting earlier this week.

The rapid spread of the disease will slow down the economic growth of China, the world’s second largest economy and most populous nation and in this case, it will have negative impacts on the global economy, including South Korea, he explained.

He affirmed that his government will spare no efforts to minimize the economic fallout from the epidemic.

South Korea's exports fell for the 14th-consecutive month due to fewer working days and still weak demand for chips.

Outbound shipments hit US$43.35 billion last month, down 6.1 percent from $46.17 billion a year earlier.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)