Hwang expects this year’s current account surplus could be revised up to nearly $500 billion from $450 billion, and sees inflation nearing the 2% target.
Hwang said the benefits of the export boom have not spread evenly through the economy.
The government, for its part, expects household spending to turn higher in the fourth quarter as large dividend payouts and early-year bonuses from the chipmakers feed through to incomes. SK Hynix has outlined a shareholder return program of about ₩100 trillion (approximately $74.8 billion), including more than ₩30 trillion (approximately $22.4 billion) in cash dividends and at least ₩60 trillion (approximately $44.9 billion) in buybacks and share cancellations, while Samsung Electronics is expected to return more than ₩100 trillion (approximately $74.8 billion) as well.
Yoo Byunghee, director-general of economic policy at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, told a briefing that consumption should resume growing in the fourth quarter, citing scheduled corporate dividends and bonus payments early next year. He said the government would concentrate on employment and its three core social policy programs, since “consumption can only rise when jobs are created and wages are paid.”
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