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| Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho speaks during a conference in Seoul, Feb. 10. Yonhap |
Korea's top economic policymaker said Friday taming inflation is still a priority for Korea, although the pace of inflation is expected to gradually slow this year.
Inflation in Asia's fourth-largest economy has risen by more than 5 percent for the ninth month in a row through January amid soaring energy costs.
"We should not scatter our focus on stabilizing prices yet," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a conference with news editors in Seoul. "We still need to put our priority on easing inflation for the time being."
The minister said that the country's inflation will slow this year, although there can be some ups and downs.
Choo suggested that inflation is expected to fall to a 4-percent level during the first half, and slow to a 3-percent level in the July-December period.
For all of 2023, the consumer price is expected to rise 3.5 percent on-year, he added.
Korea's policy targets will "turn" to economy should the country show clear signs of eased inflation, the minister said.
"The impact of a rate policy comes with a lag gradually, and not immediately," Choo said. "This year, we need to focus both on prices and the economy."
Last month, the Bank of Korea raised the benchmark seven-day repo rate from 3.25 percent to 3.5 percent, the highest level since 2008, to tame inflation. It was the seventh straight rate increase since April last year, the longest span of tightening.
Touching on the country's property market, which has been suffering a slump amid the higher borrowing costs, Choo said the recent adjustment in the market is "inevitable."
"Clearly, the real estate market will experience further adjustments. But we cannot know the scope and the length of such adjustments," he added.
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