S&P Maintains South Korea's 'AA, Stable' Credit Rating

[The Financial News] S&P Global Ratings announced on the 29th that it is maintaining South Korea's sovereign credit rating at 'AA' with a 'stable' outlook. Earlier this year, Fitch Ratings and Moody's Corporation also kept the country's credit rating and outlook unchanged.
S&P Global Ratings cited South Korea's strong competitiveness in semiconductors and shipbuilding, and forecast that the economy will grow by about 2.1% a year in per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) terms from 2026 to 2029. It also projected that per-capita GDP will exceed $44,000 in 2029.
It also assessed South Korea's fiscal capacity as relatively sound.
S&P Global Ratings forecast that the general government fiscal deficit will stand at minus 1.4% of GDP this year before narrowing to minus 1.1% next year. It said net general government debt will be around 9% of GDP.
However, S&P Global Ratings noted that non-financial public enterprises' debt amounts to about 20% of GDP, warning that prolonged instability in global energy markets could put major energy state-owned companies under financial strain.
Commenting on S&P Global Ratings' decision to maintain South Korea's credit rating, Kim Hee-jae, Director of International Finance Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), said, "Although external and internal uncertainties remain high, including the situation in the Middle East, this confirms that positive assessments of and confidence in the South Korean economy are continuing firmly."
[email protected] Jung Sang-gyun Reporter