This photo shows signage outside the Moody's Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, N.Y., U.S., Nov. 12, 2021. Reuters-Yonhap
Global credit appraiser Moody's Investors Service said Thursday it has retained its credit rating on South Korea at "Aa2," with a stable outlook.
Moody's has maintained the country's sovereign credit rating at "Aa2," the third-highest level on the company's table, since December 2015, when the agency upgraded it from "Aa3."
"The affirmation of the rating is supported by (South) Korea's very high degree of economic diversity and competitiveness and continued institutional management around key challenges," the agency said in its latest report.
Moody's projects the South Korean economy will grow 1.8 percent in 2026, as semiconductor exports continue to rise amid the global artificial intelligence (AI) upcycle and facility investment strengthens.
"The stable outlook reflects balanced risks to (South) Korea's credit profile, including fluctuations in key credit metrics that may arise, particularly given Korea's exposure to global trade," Moody's said.
The forecast is slightly more pessimistic but broadly aligns with estimates from other major institutions and the South Korean government.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.9 percent, the Bank of Korea 1.8 percent and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2.1 percent.
"Over the course of the next decade, we expect growth to average around 2 percent, marking a gradual slowdown from the late 1990s and into the mid-2000s, when real GDP averaged around 5 percent year-on-year," the report said.
Source: Korea Times News
