Korea Holds IR in London

'Korean Economy: K-Drama about Winning over the Pandemic'

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki held an Investor Roundtable in London, UK on November 1. The IR session lasted from 15:00 to 16:30, GMT at Corinthia London.

The event was the government's first in-person IR session since the outbreak of the pandemic, held in the world's leading global financial center. The IR took place during DPM Hong's visit to the country to attend the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, as well as COP26 Finance Day on November 3.

Executives from global investment banks and asset management firms in London were invited to the IR, where DPM Hong outlined Korea's policy response to the pandemic, recent recovery trends and policy achievements. He also discussed Korea's mid-to long-term challenges and strategic framework the government has employed to help promote innovative and inclusive growth.

Korean Economy: K-Drama about Winning over the Pandemic

DPM Hong began his presentation explaining what the Korean economy has in common with recent mega-hit 'Squid Game', saying that as it is not an overnight success, so is how the economy stands out amid the pandemic. Here is a summary of DPM Hong's discussion.

- Successful defense: Korea has achieved successful containment of Covid-19 with all-out policy efforts, including six fiscal stimulus packages which led to better recovery than its peers, and as a result, has won strong investor confidence, and gained external sector strength and capacity for business innovation, which is also brought by Korea's business friendly environment

- Progressing towards a full-fledged recovery: Recent trends show fast and strong recovery, which has been kept in balance across sectors amid the economy maintaining solid growth momentum. In addition, Korea has set stages for gradual return to normal as vaccination rates accelerate, and will continue with its accommodative macro-economic policy until recovery is firmly on track, along with targeted support for vulnerable groups

- Advancing beyond the pandemic: Korea laid out strategic framework for innovation and inclusion, in particular the Korean New Deal^[1], strengthened response to climate change, and will continue to work on ways to foster new growth engines^[2], properly respond to demographic changes and improve social safety nets

DPM Hong concluded his presentation with the recent launch of Korea's first homegrown space rocket Nuri as an example for new opportunities innovation-geared Korea could have in the post-pandemic era.

[1] National Strategy for Great Transformation which focuses on innovation in technology, green environment and human resources development

[2] DNA (data, network and AI) and BIG3 (future cars, system chips and biohealth)