SOUTH KOREA

SOUTH KOREA After making a dramatic recovery from its financial crisis of 1997-98, South Korea's economy looks set to continue at a buoyant, though slowing, pace. In its latest country forecast, the OECD predicts that South Korea's GDP will grow by 8.5% this year and 6.0% in 2001. Ireland is the only OECD member that is expected to see even faster growth. The OECD reckons that a boom in the information-technology and telecoms sectors as well as the rapid growth of new businesses will keep South Korean investment accelerating. Consumption spending will be bolstered by a growth in wages and fall in unemployment; the OECD expects South Korea's jobless rate to drop from 6.3% in 1999 to 4.1% in 2001. Exports may also pick up further as demand in overseas markets continues to strengthen. Nonetheless, several factors will ensure that GDP growth slows from the double-digit pace of 1999. Stockbuilding, which boosted GDP dramatically in 1999, will moderate. Growth in imports will narrow the country's current-account surplus, and tighter fiscal policy will limit overall demand.