Despite a range of difficulties facing its economy, South Korea remains confident of becoming a fully developed economy on a par with other industrialized nations, Seung Soo Han, former deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy of South Korea, said June 27.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo, Han said that South Korea is now undergoing "growing pains," facing a cyclical downturn of the economy, a deterioration of its trade balance and structural problems. However, he said, "The Korean economy ... has faced many tough challenges in the past and has overcome each hurdle to become what it is today."
Han, a National Assembly member belonging to the ruling party, said that the government is determined to take every necessary step to overcome challenges. He said that Korea's recent participation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has come with duties and obligations.