Economic Policy
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Strategy & Finance nominee Yoo Il-ho’s direction of economic policy is drawing keen attention. The conservative financier is expected to clear his confirmation hearing smoothly.
Current Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, in fact, has already drafted the national economic policy for next year and made it public last week. Therefore, the new minister’s thoughts are likely to be reflected only in part, at best.
In addition, the year 2016 constitutes the final stage of the three-year economic innovation plan of the current government, which means that the new minister is likely to have to focus on it for more tangible outcomes. This prediction is supported by the general observation that he has shown a gentle rather than a bulldozer-like leadership style.
“Many financiers, including myself, believe that economic revitalization takes precedence over fiscal deficits during an economic downturn such as what we are going through these days,” he recently said, adding, “Both short-term stimulus and long-term restructuring matter for us now, and I would stick to expansionary economic policy with consistency for the time being.”
Still, he also said something different at an interview on Dec. 22. “Financiers tend to be rather conservative about economic issues,” he mentioned, continuing, “We need to rack our brains about how to deal with the national debt and what is the optimum deficit level.”