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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting of senior aides and secretaries at the Blue House on Nov. 2. (provided by the Blue House)

On Nov. 2, South Korean President Moon Jae-in stated that “the economy has now broken free from the rapid contraction in the first and second quarters and entered a phase of clear growth.”

This view is based on the GDP growth rate released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Oct. 27. “A series of recent economic indicators suggest that our economy has turned the corner and is rapidly recovering,” Moon said while presiding over a meeting of senior aides and secretaries at the Blue House. “In particular, the fact that we saw ‘triple growth’ in industrial activity across production, consumption and investment in September has led to brighter forecasts that this growth will continue in the fourth quarter.” BOK reported that Korea’s GDP growth rate in the third quarter of this year had increased by 1.9% over the previous quarter.

The president also praised the robust production capacity of Korean manufacturers. “The miraculous defense put up by our economy was made possible by dynamic production and exports from manufacturers,” Moon said. “They say that one’s true character comes to light in a crisis, and this is becoming an opportunity to rediscover our manufacturing industry.”

“If we are able to successfully keep the pandemic under control and continue the economic rebound in the fourth quarter, our economy will be able to move past the COVID shock and return to a normal growth trajectory in the first half of next year,” Moon added.

“The [BOK] announcement was released on Oct. 27, so the GDP growth rate is actually above 2% if you include the last few days of October,” a Blue House official noted regarding Moon’s comments. “The purpose of the remarks was to encourage people to have confidence in the economy.”

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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