MF predicts S. Korea's growth to fall to 4.1 pct on adverse external conditions By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday downgraded its forecast of the South Korean economy's growth for this year to 4.1 percent from the 4.2 percent it predicted five months earlier, citing global financial turmoil, a growing trade deficit and rising commodity prices.

In a country report, the IMF upped the figure for next year to 4.3 percent,
expecting South Korea's economy will regain momentum early next year along with
its major trading partners. In April, the lending agency put South Korea's
estimated growth rate for 2009 at 4.4 percent.

The IMF's projection is the lowest among major international and South Korean
think tanks and organizations, with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) having slashed the number to 4.3 percent from 5.2 percent in
June.

South Korean officials still say they can achieve at least 6 percent growth this
year, although they acknowledged they cannot meet South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak's campaign pledge from last year, a target rate of 7 percent. South
Korea's economy, the world's 13th biggest, grew 5 percent last year.