The global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P)[1] will visit Korea from March 9 to 11 to conduct its annual consultation for the assessment of Korea’s sovereign credit rating.

    ※ Korea’s sovereign credit rating (outlook): [S&P] AA (Stable) [Moody’s] Aa2 (Stable) [Fitch] AA− (Stable)

The S&P delegation plans to hold consultations focusing on its key areas of interest, including Korea’s economic conditions, external economic issues such as responses to trade-related and Middle East-driven uncertainties, as well as the direction of monetary and fiscal policies. The consultations will be conducted through visits to relevant government ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Planning and Budget, and the Financial Services Commission, as well as the Bank of Korea, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and the Korea Development Institute (KDI).

S&P conducts regular annual consultations once a year with relevant institutions, including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, to assess economic conditions and related issues, and uses the findings as a basis for evaluating Korea’s sovereign credit rating. Korea’s sovereign credit rating assessment (Credit Rating Action) is expected to be released in the first half of this year, based on the results of the annual consultation.[2]

The government will respond in a systematic and coordinated manner throughout the entire annual consultation process, in close cooperation with relevant ministries. This includes arranging an in-person meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun Cheol and the S&P annual consultation team.