By Lee Kyoung Mi and Lee Jihae

The Japanese economic daily Nikkei (Nihon Keizai Shimbun) on Nov. 8 hailed Korea for leading global economic growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "overcoming adversity is Korea's brand." 

The newspaper ran a column by William Pesek, a veteran columnist on East Asian finance, titled "Strong Korea, will it reform?" The piece mentioned how Korea overcame the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the global economic meltdown of 2008.

The writer said global analysts had predicted Korea's financial collapse multiple times since the 1990s, adding that when the 2008 crisis hit, speculation rose that the Asian crisis would repeat itself in Korea and drive investors out.

Korea's GDP in the third quarter showing plus growth from the second proved the naysayers wrong, he said.

He said the third-quarter GDP rise was due to the 15.6% jump in exports from the quarter before and shows how the country has shaken off the immediate crisis, but also advised the country to implement long overdue structural reforms.

Containing COVID-19 and achieving growth will serve as political capital for President Moon Jae-in when restructuring economic growth elements, the columnist said, stressing that Korea still has potential for fiscal expansion compared to other countries.

Pesek concluded the column by saying the president has the chance to confound those who viewed the Korean economy negatively.

km137426@korea.kr