WEAK consumption is the biggest factor holding back South Korea’s economic recovery, the country’s central bank governor said, cautioning that a return to solid growth is some way off.

    “Sluggish domestic demand centered around consumption is the main factor that we see harming the pace of economic recovery,” Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol told reporters at a lunch briefing at the central bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday.

    “Meanwhile looking at exports, they are expanding in terms of volume but cannot be seen as a factor that can change our economic outlook greatly.”

    The news conference was held to mark his first anniversary as governor.

    The stuttering economic recovery has prompted the central bank to ease policy three times since last year, the most recent being on March 12 when the benchmark rate was cut by a quarter percentage point to a record-low 1.75 percent.

    “It will be difficult for the economy to escape current difficulties in a short period of time,” Lee said.

    “However, we have hopes the situation will become gradually better as the global recovery is ongoing and the government is bolstering efforts for structural reform.”

    Lee’s comments come just a day before February output data is released by the government, which analysts have tipped to have edged up 0.4 percent on monthly terms, after production declined at its biggest pace in six years.(SD-Agencies)