President Park Geun-hye on Monday portrayed an optimistic outlook for the nation’s economy, claiming that its performance has been relatively good given the challenging external circumstances.

Park has recently been more vocal in expressing her economic optimism, especially since main opposition leader Kim Jong-in started to blame the current administration for economic policy failures.
 

“Our economy has made improvements in several key sectors recently, including a slowdown in the export decline, a steady growth in consumption and general employment,” Park said in a meeting with top aides at Cheong Wa Dae.

“Considering the lasting challenges (in the global economy), such accomplishments are not as bad as they are made out to be.”

She also urged people not to be intimidated, claiming that an excessive level of anxiety and the consequent shrinking consumer confidence may deal an actual blow to the real economy.

“Once the government’s ongoing financial policies such as prolonging the individual vehicle excise tax take effect, the economy will be back on track,” she said.

The president’s explanatory comments seemingly responded to Kim Chong-in, her former economic advisor and current interim leader of The Minjoo Party of Korea.

“Unless (the government) makes a fundamental turn in its economic policies, it will face failure, just as the Japanese economy did years ago,” Kim said at a party meeting on Monday.

The ruling-turned-opposition politician has repeatedly stressed that the largest blunder of the Park government is its economic maladministration, adding weight to the opposition’s push for change of power in the upcoming April parliamentary elections.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)