South Korea will begin its annual meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week on the country's overall economic situation as well as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the finance ministry said Monday.

An IMF team, led by Martin Kaufman, Korea missions chief at the Washington-based organization, will hold a video conference with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday before holding similar virtual meetings with officials of the central bank, and other financial and economic institutions.

The team is also scheduled to hold a video conference with Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Jan. 25 to report the results of its annual consultation before wrapping up the weekslong consultation, the ministry added.

The IMF had sent its delegation to South Korea for an annual assessment in the past.

But the meeting will take place virtually this year for the second consecutive year due to the pandemic.

The IMF earlier predicted the South Korean economy will grow 3.3 percent this year. (Yonhap)