Ministry of Finance and Economy

Second Vice Minister of Finance and Economy Huh Chang attended the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)* Finance Ministers’ Meeting, held in Hong Kong, China, on October 20-21 under China’s chairmanship.    * The largest regional economic cooperation forum, comprising 21 member economies, including Korea, the United States, and China, with the goal of promoting economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.   The meeting covered four major topics: (1) regional economic developments; (2) ways to expand investment in human capital and improve the efficiency of public spending while ensuring fiscal sustainability; (3) digital infrastructure financing; and (4) measures to improve financial access for vulnerable groups.   Notably, the key agenda items proposed by China as this year’s APEC chair align closely with the cooperation priorities set out in the Incheon Plan, which was developed under Korea’s 2025 APEC chairmanship. The Incheon Plan is a five-year medium-term roadmap beginning in 2026 that outlines the key areas of cooperation and implementation priorities for the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process. This year’s discussions were particularly meaningful in translating the Incheon Plan into concrete action and further advancing regional fiscal and financial cooperation.   During Session 3 on “Digital Infrastructure Financing,” held on the first day of the meeting, Second Vice Minister Huh delivered remarks introducing Korea’s National Growth Fund as an example of policy financing in which public funds serve as a catalyst for private investment. He highlighted the role of public capital and the importance of mobilizing private financing in future growth industries that require large-scale investment. He also outlined the government’s plans to establish a strategic sovereign wealth fund backed by public resources to provide long-term patient capital to strategic industries, including digital infrastructure, and serve as an anchor investor to attract global and private capital.   On the sidelines of the meeting, Second Vice Minister Huh held bilateral meetings with chief delegates from major economies, including New Zealand, Canada, and China, as well as senior officials from international organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).   In his meeting with New Zealand, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in high-tech industries of the future, including artificial intelligence (AI), as well as supply chain cooperation to address geopolitical risks. During his meeting with Canada, the two sides shared their respective policy approaches to establishing strategic sovereign wealth funds. They also welcomed the progress made in bilateral supply chain cooperation, including in critical minerals, and agreed to further broaden the scope of economic cooperation based on these achievements.   Second Vice Minister Huh expressed appreciation to China for successfully chairing this year’s APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting and proposed continued economic and financial cooperation through multilateral forums, including APEC and G20 finance ministers’ meetings. In response, the Chinese side noted that it had been able to successfully conclude this year’s meeting by building on the achievements of Korea’s chairmanship last year and expressed hope for further development of Korea-China relations.   Second Vice Minister Huh also strengthened cooperation with international organizations through meetings with the OECD and the AIIB. He explained that Korea’s economic recovery remained robust, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth expected to reach the 3 percent range this year. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann responded that he also held a positive outlook for the Korean economy in 2026. In his meeting with the AIIB, Vice Minister Huh focused discussions on expanding employment opportunities for highly qualified Korean professionals at the institution and strengthening infrastructure investment cooperation between Korean companies and the AIIB. AIIB President Zou Jiayi expressed her commitment to continuing to deepen the bank’s partnership with Korea.   Please refer to the attached files. 

In August 2026, total industrial production, retail sales and facility investment decreased.   Output increased in the construction (+1.9% m-o-m, +1.3% y-o-y) and service (+0.5%, +4.6%) sectors, but declined in the industrial sector (-4.8%, -2.2%). As a result, the total production declined by 1.3% month on month, while increasing by 1.9% year on year.   Retail sales fell (-1.8% m-o-m, -0.3% y-o-y), and facility investment moved down (-9.5%, +16.1%).   Exports in September 2026 grew by 83.5 percent year on year, supported by strong exports of semiconductors, computers, and cosmetics. Average daily exports rose by 104.9 percent in September compared to the same month of last year.   The consumer sentiment index (CSI) climbed by 2.1 points month on month to 106.6 in September. The composite business sentiment index (CBSI) went down by 0.5 points month on month to 99.1 in September and the CBSI outlook for October remained unchanged at 99.6.   The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index for August rose by 0.5 points and the cyclical indicator of the leading composite index decreased by 0.1 points.   In September, growth in the number of employed persons slowed, while the month-on-month increase in consumer prices moderated.   The number of employed persons grew by 113,000 year on year, with the unemployment rate declining by 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier.   The consumer price index (CPI) climbed by 2.9 percent year on year (3.1% in August → 2.9% in September), with the index excluding food and energy rising by 2.8 percent, the index excluding agricultural products and petroleum products by 2.7 percent, and the CPI for living necessities by 2.5 percent.   In September, stock prices moved up, Korean Treasury Bond yields rose, and the Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar.   In August, both housing prices (+0.32% m-o-m) and Jeonse[1] prices (+0.35% m-o-m) continued to climb.   The Korean economy continues to show signs of a robust recovery, supported by strong export growth, solid investment growth, and a gradual improvement in consumption.   However, uncertainties stemming from the Middle East conflict have increased somewhat. Pressures on people’s livelihoods also persist due to rising inflationary pressures from high oil prices and challenging employment conditions for vulnerable groups.   The global economy continues to grow at a moderate pace, although uncertainties surrounding the Middle East conflict and U.S. tariff measures remain.   The government will make every effort to ensure stable supply and demand for key items to minimize the impact of the Middle East conflict, while strengthening policy efforts to stabilize people's livelihoods and reduce economic polarization so that the benefits of growth can spread throughout the economy. [1] lump-sum deposits with no monthly payments Key Statistics Employment   2025 2026 Annual Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Number of employed  (million) 28.77 29.15 29.04 29.05 28.21 27.99 28.41 28.79 28.96 29.16 29.15 29.14 29.15 29.27 Employment rate  (%) 62.9 63.7 63.4 63.4 61.5 61.0 61.8 62.7 63.0 63.3 63.4 63.3 63.3 63.5 (Seasonally adjusted)  62.9 63.1 62.9 62.9 62.7 62.8 63.0 63.0 62.7 62.5 62.6 62.7 62.7 62.9 Consumer Price Index                                                                                          (%)                                                                                                  2025                                           2026  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep y-o-y 1.9 2.2 2.1 1.7 2.1 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.6 3.1 3.2 2.8 3.1 2.9 m-o-m -0.1 0.0 0.2 -0.1 0.5 0.3 -0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.1 -0.2 0.2 0.3   Retail Sales (Percentage change from the previous period, %)     2024                                                        2025                                             2026 Annual Q1 Q2 Q3  Q4  Annual Q1 Q2  Q3  Q4       Q1      Q2             Jun      Jul¹      Aug¹ Retail sales -1.9 -1.2 -0.7 0.4 -0.6 0.3 0.6 -0.6 1.2 0.6 2.4 -1.8 2.7 -2.6 -1.8 (y-o-y) - -1.5 -3.0 -1.4  -1.8 - -0.8 -0.1 1.6 0.9 3.2 2.3 4.0 -1.0 -0.3 1. Preliminary Facility Investment Index (Percentage change from the previous period, %)                                                                  2024                                           2025                                     2026 Annual Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4    Annual        Q1       Q2       Q3      Q4     Q1    Q2       Jun    Jul¹   Aug¹ Facility investment index 3.0 -3.0 0.4 6.0 1.8       1.2 -2.2 0.3 0.6 -3.8 13.0 3.4 6.2 8.0 -9.5 (y-o-y) - -1.5 -3.4 11.4 5.6     - 5.4 5.5 1.2 -6.2 9.8 12.8 21.6 24.6 16.1 1. Preliminary    Construction Completed  (Percentage change from the previous period, %)                                           2024                                            2025                                         2026   Annual      Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4    Annual       Q1       Q2      Q3       Q4  Q1     Q2 Jun  Jul¹    Aug¹ Construction Completed (Constant) -4.6 4.5 -5.5 -4.6 -4.6     -16.5 -7.2 -2.6 -0.8 -4.1 0.5 0.1 4.1 -1.0 1.9 (y-o-y) - 4.1 -3.1 -9.9 -9.5       - -21.1 -17.3 -11.9 -15.1 -6.1 -4.9 -4.4 -3.4 1.3 1. Preliminary Exports and Imports  (US$ billion, y-o-y, %)   2025                                                                              2026  Annual  Q1   Q2   Q3 Q4 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Exports 709.33 159.53 175.13 184.89 189.78 65.84 67.64 87.36 85.75 87.55 101.96 99.19 98.28 129.04 (y-o-y, %) 3.8 -2.3 2.1 6.5 8.4 33.9 29.4 50.5 47.8 52.9 70.4 63.3 68.7 83.5 Average daily exports 2.64 2.49 2.63 2.59 2.85 2.80 3.56 3.80 3.57 4.27 4.53 4.13 4.47 5.63 Imports 631.90 152.84 154.40 162.49 162.16 57.15 52.11 60.75 62.11 60.75 66.05 68.54 63.50 71.09 (y-o-y, %) -0.0 -1.3 -1.8 1.5 1.4 11.7 7.8 13.9 16.7 20.7 30.0 26.4 22.4 26.0 Average daily imports 2.35 2.39 2.32 2.27 2.44 2.43 2.74 2.64 2.59 2.96 2.94 2.86 2.89 3.31 Industrial Production (Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production)                 (Percentage change from the previous period, %)  2024                                              2025                    2026 Annual Q2 Q3 Q4    Annual Q1 Q2 Q3      Q4 Q1 Q2 Aug¹ Industrial Production2 m-o-m, q-o-q - 1.7 -0.1 1.9 - 0.7 1.0 1.5 -3.4 2.7 1.5 -4.8 y-o-y 4.1 5.0 2.4 3.8 2.8 2.9 3.1 7.8 -2.0 2.7 2.2 -2.2 Manufacturing Production m-o-m, q-o-q - 1.8 -0.3 2.2 - 0.8 0.9 1.4 -3.3 3.0 1.3 -5.1 y-o-y 4.3 5.1 2.2 4.1 3.0 2.8 3.5 8.1 -1.9 3.0 2.2 -2.4 Shipments (m-o-m, q-o-q) - 0.9 -0.2 0.9 - 0.0 1.1 0.4 -2.0 2.3 -0.4 -3.6 Inventory3 (m-o-m, q-o-q) - -1.0 -0.1 -0.8 - -3.0 -1.9 0.8 0.4 -0.5 2.9 0.6 Production capacity (y-o-y) 0.8 1.0 0.6 1.0 2.3 2.0 2.5 2.9 1.8 0.9 0.8 0.7 Average operation ratio4 72.6 73.3 72.1 72.5 72.6 72.9 72.9 73.1 71.4 73.3 72.9 70.8   1. Preliminary   2. Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity and Gas Production   3. End-point (month, quarter, and year)   4. Average operation ratio for the month (or quarter)    Service Output            (Percentage change from the previous period, %)                                                  2024                                                 2025                                                   2026  Annual  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4    Annual Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Jun Jul¹ Aug¹ Service output 1.1  0.3 0.0      -0.2       1.1       2.0 0.3  0.4 0.7 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.0 -1.4 0.5     1. Preliminary Composite Indices of Coincident and Leading Indicators                                                                                            (Points)    2025                                                                                        2026 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun¹ Jul¹ Aug¹ Cyclical indicator of coincident composite index 99.5 99.3 99.1 99.1 99.7 100.1 100.3 99.9 100.4 101.2 101.7 m-o-m (points) -0.4 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 0.6 0.4 0.2 -0.4 0.5 0.8 0.5 Cyclical indicator of leading composite index 99.6 99.8 100.2 100.7 101.2 101.8 102.3 102.9 103.8 104.3 104.2 m-o-m (points) -0.1 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.9 0.5 -0.1 1. Preliminary   Please refer to the attached files.

On the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hyoung Il held introductory bilateral meetings with finance ministers from major economies, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Singapore, as well as the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).   Deputy Prime Minister Lee first met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers in the morning. He expressed his deep appreciation for the teamwork demonstrated by the two countries in serving as co-chairs of the G20 Study Group on Global Imbalances this year. Building on this experience, he expressed hope that the two countries would continue to work closely together in multilateral forums. In particular, he once again thanked Australia for its cooperation in securing supplies of urea solution during Korea’s supply shortage in November 2021, when he was serving as Secretary for Economic Policy at the Office of the President. He reaffirmed that Korea and Australia are important partners in supply chain cooperation, particularly in energy and critical minerals.   Deputy Prime Minister Lee then held a brief pull-aside meeting with Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, Lars Klingbeil. The German side noted that the two countries are key partners across various areas, including manufacturing, supply chains for critical minerals, and digital technologies. In particular, Germany highlighted the growing importance of physical AI in traditional industries where it has strengths, such as automobiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, and expressed hope for closer cooperation with Korea, which is highly competitive in high-tech industries. Deputy Prime Minister Lee introduced Korea’s recently announced major AI investment initiatives, including three mega-projects, and showed keen interest in the economic situation in Germany and other European countries.   During his meeting with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey, the Korean side voiced its strong support for the UK’s plans for the G20 Finance Track under its 2027 presidency. Recognizing the importance of strengthening economic resilience, including youth employment, it also expressed a desire for closer cooperation between the two countries’ finance authorities. Chancellor Healey congratulated Deputy Prime Minister Lee on assuming his new responsibilities and offered his sincere support for Lee’s future endeavors. He also noted that, as Korea and the UK would hold successive G20 presidencies, he looked forward to close coordination between the two countries through the G20 Troika in addressing global challenges. Deputy Prime Minister Lee also met with Singapore’s Second Minister for Finance Indranee Thurai Rajah, representing Singapore as a guest country at this year’s G20 meetings, to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation. As the two countries are scheduled to co-chair the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting next year, both sides agreed to work closely together to bolster regional financial cooperation. Regarding Korea’s planned strategic sovereign wealth fund, Deputy Prime Minister Lee proposed sharing Singapore’s experience and expertise in operating Temasek Holdings and further enhancing cooperation in this area. Minister Rajah welcomed the proposal.   Lastly, Deputy Prime Minister Lee met with ADB President Masato Kanda. The two sides discussed follow-up measures to advance cooperation in key areas, including artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals, and nuclear power, which had been discussed during President Kanda’s visit to Korea and meeting with the President of Republic of Korea on September 14. Deputy Prime Minister Lee requested that the ADB play an active role in translating the outcomes of summit-level diplomacy into concrete cooperation projects. He also sought the ADB’s continued attention and support for expanding employment opportunities for highly qualified Korean professionals at the institution. Please refer to the attached files.