Fitch Ratings, one of the world's main credit rating agencies, hosted a conference in Seoul on Wednesday called Fitch on Korea 2019.
And our reporter Hong Yoo was there to take a listen to what the agency had to say regarding the credit ratings for countries in the Asian Pacific region, including South Korea.
Earlier in September, Fitch Ratings had revised its global growth forecast due to a sharp escalation in the U.S.-China trade dispute and the increased possibility that the UK will leave the European Union without a withdrawal deal.
Such developments have worsened the outlook for world trade as uncertainty observed in trade policies affects spending decisions by the private sector.
At the Fitch on Korea 2019 conference, the Associate Director for Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings team at Fitch Ratings said that the agency's forecast for South Korea's economic growth is also lower than the Korean central bank's projections.
"Fitch forecasts Korea's GDP growth to slow to 2 percent in 2019 as a result of weaker global demand. Korea's growth recovers sluggish to 2-point-3 percent in our 2020 forecast as the U.S.-China trade dispute and uncertainty from trade tensions with Japan weigh on exports and investor sentiment."
He added that the magnitude of the impact the ongoing trade row between Seoul and Tokyo will have on the Korean economy is uncertain and depends on how long the trade war lasts and how complex it gets.
But the government's sound fiscal management and steady macroeconomic performance are strengths that help Korea manage growing near-term economic headwinds.
As South Korea is an export driven country, its policies aim to lower the risks that global trade disputes have on the local economy while still increasing economic growth.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.