S. Korea officials: Downside risk to growth rising

SEOUL: South Korea’s top two economic policy officials have agreed that downside risks to growth were increasing but did not say whether they saw the economy as weak enough to warrant an interest rate cut.

Finance Minister Choi Kyunghwan and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Juyeol also agreed to pursue “harmony between economic and monetary policies”, the two organisations said in a joint statement after their first meeting since Choi took office last week.