By Xu Aiying

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has maintained its growth forecast for the Korean economy this year at 2.5%.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Oct. 22 said the IMF announced this in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) for this month.

Released four times a year,. the WEO released in April and October is based on data from all IMF member states, while those coming out in January and July focus on the world's 30 leading economies including Korea.

The IMF kept its forecast for Korea at the July figure of 2.5%, which is similar to projections of the Korean government (2.6%), Bank of Korea (2.4%), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2.5%), and Korea Development Institute (2.5%).

The IMF expects Korea to grow 2.2% next year, the same figure quoted in July.

For the world, the IMF retained its economic growth forecast at 3.2% this year, the same as in July.

xuaiy@korea.kr