South Korea finance minister says expects exports to decline this year

[SEOUL] South Korea's finance minister said on Monday he expects exports to decline this year due to sluggish global demand, and asked government officials to strengthen efforts to boost domestic consumption to fill the void.

"In the past, exports contributed greatly to our GDP growth but this year, we expect them to decline due to the slowdown of global demand," finance minister Choi Kyung-hwan said in closing remarks at a meeting, which the ministry distributed.

Mr Choi added recent nationwide discount sales had helped in offsetting the loss from exports but stressed the importance of future efforts to increase exports.

In 2014, South Korean exports rose 2.3 per cent from the previous year.

REUTERS