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The central bank is likely to lower its current 3.1 percent economic growth forecast for this year down to around 2 percent, as the country's economic doldrums dragged on into August and Typhoon Maemi tore apart the southern regions last week.
Growth of only around 2 percent would be the lowest for the country in the five years since the economy recorded a negative growth of 6.7 percent, in 1998. Excluding 1998, a 2-percent growth rate would be the lowest in the 23 years since 1980.
Chung Kyu-young, assistant governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), said Monday that unless there is a sudden improvement in the economy, the BOK forecast for growth this year would have to be adjusted downward, due mostly to the damage done by the typhoon.
Another high-ranking official of the bank said that the expected economic recovery for the third quarter (July-September) has so far failed to measure up to expectations.
Chung said that the central bank has been in the process of assessing the damage from the typhoon in order to readjust the growth forecast.
(Bang Hyun-chul, banghc@chosun.com )
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