[THE INVESTOR] South Korea may face a protracted recession like that in Japan partly due to aging population, an economist with the International Monetary Fund warned Aug. 9.

“There is a possibility that South Korea will be exposed to a lengthy (economic) slump, just as Japan (did), for structural problems in population,” Rhee Chang-yong, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific department, told reporters here after a forum hosted by the Korean Economic Association.

He pointed to the decline in the population of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, mostly in working age. He voiced concern about the likelihood of rapid growth in the number of poverty-stricken elderly people.

Rhee’s view echoes a host of similar worries raised by local think tanks and media.

On South Korea’s growth potential, he said the country needs to regard 3-percent growth as decent.

It‘s not a poor accomplishment for the size of the South Korean economy, of which per capita income is nearing US$30,000, said Rhee who formerly served as Asia Development Bank’s senior economist and South Korea‘s financial regulator.

The time has gone when South Korea enjoyed 7-8 percent growth and it’s important to manage the current situation in order to prevent the rate from falling further, he added.

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