Ministry of Finance Ended The Last Crisis Management Meeting

Ministry of Strategy and economy held its last emergency meeting yesterday, signaling the government’s perception that the country has fully recovered from the global financial crisis 2008.

“Our economy has continued to rebound on the rebound of the private sector,” finance minister, Yoon Jeung-hyun said at the meeting. “Our economy is recovering to the level before the crisis more quickly than any other country.”

The ministry has held a crisis management meeting nearly every week since July 2008, when it was formed to deal with the global economic crisis and a sharp rise in oil prices.

The meetings will be replaced with economic policy coordination sessions beginning next year.

The meetings have been chaired by Yoon and involved related ministries including the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The contingency meeting was first held on July 10, 2008, as the international crude oil price reached $140 per barrel. It then shifted its focus to tackling the effects of the global financial crisis. A total of 82 meetings were held.

Recent meetings have dealt with the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and geopolitical risks involving North Korea.

At the meeting yesterday, the Finance Ministry said out of next year’s total budget of 272.3 trillion won, the government plans to spend 57.4 percent in the first half, including 79 trillion won in the first quarter, 77.1 trillion won in the second quarter and 56.7 trillion won in the third quarter.

The Finance Ministry predicts that the economy will grow 6.1 percent this year and 5 percent in 2011.

Yoon said the household income, employment and other economic conditions showed signs of improvement.

But he warned that continued threats from North Korea could disrupt the economic recovery and increased cooperation between government agencies was needed to overcome potential problems.