S. Korea risks economic pain as virus cases soar

Heavy reliant: Rows of cars parked for shipping in the port of Ulsan. South Korea’s economy tends to be impacted quickly by global events due to its reliance on trade, especially with China. — AFP

SEOUL: South Korea warned its fragile economic recovery is under threat from the coronavirus that has spread dramatically across the country over the past week, and pledged action to minimise the fallout. The country’s currency and the main stock index plunged.

The epidemic posed a “large concern that it will limit the trend of economic recovery started late last year, ” First Vice-Minister Kim Yong-beom said, according to the Finance Ministry. He cited a drop in domestic consumption and exports to China, among other impacts.