Korea must build a 'dynamic economy,' vows finance minister nominee

Finance minister nominee Choi Sang-mok said “dynamic economy” is one of the most important keywords for an economy that is still recovering from challenges including inflation and the soft landing of the property market.

Finance minister nominee Choi Sang-mok speaks during a press conference held in central Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Finance minister nominee Choi Sang-mok said a “dynamic economy” is one of the most important keywords for an economy that is still recovering from challenges including inflation and the soft landing of the property market.

“The dynamics of the economy should be dramatically raised so we can continuously create jobs,” said Choi at a press conference held in central Seoul on Tuesday. He cited eased regulations, advancement of the high tech industry and structural reforms in labor and education sectors as the factors required for the economy to grow sustainably.

“Korea needs to transform the growth strategy from chase-and-imitating into an economy that pioneers growth.”

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday nominated Choi, a former chief economic adviser, to be the country’s next finance minister.

“Ease of movement among generations and classes as well as policy efforts for future generations are needed,” Choi added. “There are potential risks like [the insolvencies of] real estate project finance loans, struggles in the livelihoods of the public due to high inflation and extended periods of high interest rates.”

Consumer prices grew 3.3 percent in November from a year earlier, led by the high prices of agricultural produce, which grew at the quickest pace in 30 months, according to data from Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The growth of headline inflation has slowed from 3.8 percent the previous month, but inflation has stayed above 3 percent for the fourth consecutive month.

The Bank of Korea has kept the interest rates unchanged at 3.50 percent for the seventh consecutive meeting last month as inflation remains above the target of 2 percent.

The inflation that “people feel is important instead of the numbers just improving,” Choi said. He added that it is expected to take some time for inflation to stabilize and that efforts to lower people’s expectations for inflation growth is very important.

Choi also addressed criticisms of the financial regulators’ complete ban on short selling.

“Market measures are inevitably unpredictable. I know because I’ve covered the capital market and foreign exchange businesses for a long time. I’ll do my best to make sure that such misunderstandings [about the unpredictability of the Korean market] are minimized.”

Financial regulators last month reinstated a full ban on short-selling to improve rules and systems after some foreign institutional investors were found to have illegally shorted stocks. The rule, which came in ahead of the general election in April, will be effective through June 2024.

Born in 1963, Choi studied law at Seoul National University and economics at Cornell University Graduate School. He worked at the presidential office between 2014 and 2016 under the then Park Geun-hye administration and was the first vice finance minister for the following two years.

He was tapped as Yoon’s first senior presidential secretary for economic affairs in May last year and served the role through November.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]