The International Monetary Fund (IMF) underscored the importance of South Korea’s commitment to its restrictive fiscal and monetary strategies during its team’s recent visit. Harald Finger, Korea missions chief at the Washington-based organization, highlighted that even though South Korea experienced a sharper-than-expected inflation rate of 3.4% in August, driven mainly by higher prices of agricultural and manufactured goods, inflation should gradually settle, targeting 2% by the end of 2024.

The Yoon administration unveileda budget for 2024 last week that called for the smallest annual hike in spending in nearly two decades. Capped at $496.5 billion (656.9 trillion won), the