S. Korea faces increased short-term financial risks from U.S.-China trade dispute: poll

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea faces greater short-term risks than six months earlier due to the prolonged trade dispute between the United States and China but fewer long-term risks stemming from other factors such as a slowdown of its own economy, a central bank poll showed Monday.

In the survey conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK), 13 percent of those polled said the country now has a "very high" possibility of facing short-term risks to its financial system, up from 4 percent tallied six months earlier.

The biennial survey was conducted from Nov. 13-29, involving 92 local and international experts, including foreign investment firms.

Fifty-three percent of the respondents said the country has a very low possibility of short-term financial risks, up from 52 percent in May, while 34 percent said the country faces a fair amount of such possibility, down 10 percentage points over the cited period.

The U.S.-China trade dispute topped the list of risk factors facing Asia's fourth-largest economy, with 74 percent of those polled naming the Sino-American conflict as a factor when asked to list five risk factors for the country, up from 67 percent in May.

The U.S. and China are the world's largest importers of South Korean goods. South Korea's exports have dropped for 12 consecutive months as of November.

The experts also named the country's slowing economic growth and growing household debt as risk factors but said that, unlike the U.S.-China trade dispute, the issues may only lead to mid or long-term financial risks.

They also expressed concerns over a global slowdown and weakening integrity of China's financial system and economic growth.

Still, their confidence toward South Korea's own financial system grew from six months earlier, with 55 percent of the respondents saying the country's financial system is very stable, up from 50 percent in May, while only 4 percent said its financial stability is low or very low, compared with 6 percent six months earlier.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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