South Korea has a new finance minister - and a newly gloomy economic outlook. The government is reversing a recent prediction of growth, saying the South Korean economy will contract for the first time since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990's.
韩国有了一位新的财政部长，同时描绘了一幅新的黯淡的经济前景。韩国政府推翻了最近对经济增长的预测，说韩国经济将经历1990年代末亚洲金融危机以来的第一次收缩。
South Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun was sworn in Tuesday and proceeded to share what he describes as "unpleasant" but "honest" news.
尹增铉星期二宣誓就任韩国财政部长，随后就谈到他所说的“令人不愉快”但“实话实说”的消息。
He says South Korea's economy is contracting more quickly than expected, as the world economy gets worse. He says the economy is expected to contract two percent this year, because of falling domestic demand and exports.
他说，在世界经济形势不断恶化的同时，韩国经济的收缩速度也超过了预期。由于内需和出口双双下降，预期今年经济将收缩两个百分点。
Yoon estimates the South Korean economy will shed about 200,000 jobs. The forecast belies a government prediction from December that the economy would grow this year by a modest three percent.
尹增铉预测，韩国经济将减少大约20万个就业机会。他的说法不同于韩国政府去年12月关于今年经济会缓慢增长百分之3的预期。
The South Korean announcement comes as members of the United States Senate wrangle over a possible deal to spend about $800 billion to stimulate the collapsing American economy.
在韩国做出经济增长预测的同时，美国国会参议院正在就一项大约8千亿美元的经济刺激计划进行争论。
China and Japan are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to jump start their own economies and Yoon says Seoul is likely to prime the economic pump, as well.
中国和日本分别投入数千亿美元，刺激经济增长。尹增铉表示，首尔可能也会采取经济刺激措施。
He says South Korea will place highest priority on activating domestic demand and will issue a supplementary budget as early as possible.
他说，韩国将把拉动内需作为重中之重，并尽早公布一项补充预算。
Officials sat that budget is likely to contain at least $2 billion in public spending. South Korean central bank leaders are scheduled to meet this week and are expected to cut interest rates to record low levels, to attempt to get the economy moving.
有关官员说，这项预算可能包含至少20亿美元的公共开支。韩国中央银行负责人定于本周开会，预计他们会把利率降低至历史新低，以期推动经济增长。 |