FinMin Positive Overall, Cautions Over Debt

Yonhap reports that Finance Minister Hong met with managing director and head of the sovereign risk group of global rating agency Moody's Investors Service and forecast domestic demand and the job market will gradually improve as the country is on a recovery track amid the pandemic. The minister said private spending and consumer sentiment are recovering and job data for March is expected to show marked improvement. Hong did sound the alarm against growing national debt. "We have special wariness about the fast pace at which national debt is rising," Hong said, vowing efforts to consolidate the country's debt. The national debt is expected to reach KRW 965.9 trillion this year. The debt/GDP ratio will likely reach 48.2% this year, up from 43.9 percent the previous year.