Standard & Poor's, a global rating agency, made a positive assessment of the South Korean economy amid eased inter-Korean tensions, the country's chief economic policymaker said Thursday.
"S&P sees the overall conditions surrounding the Korean economy positively, and it also views progress in the geopolitical risks involving North Korea in a favorable light," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said after a meeting with a S&P delegation.
"But they expressed concerns over the job market," he said.
Led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at S&P, the delegation has been in South Korea since Tuesday to meet officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Bank of Korea and other government agencies.
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(Yonhap) |
The annual meeting came against the backdrop of improving inter-Korean relations following recent events, such as the inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un late last month.
On April 27, the leaders of the two Koreas held a summit at the border village of Panmunjom in which they vowed an end to hostilities, the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the establishment of a permanent and solid peace regime.
Moody's upgraded its rating for South Korea to "Aa2" in 2015, the third-highest level on the company's table, while Standard and Poor's also gave the country a grade hike to "AA" in 2016. Fitch has maintained its fourth-highest rating, "AA-," for Asia's fourth-largest economy since 2012.(Yonhap)
