Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, center, speaks during a joint goverment briefing on the 2024 economic policy directions at the Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Korea aims to push up the country's exports to a record-high $700 billion in 2024, capitalizing on a rebound in outbound shipments that are projected to be a key determinant of this year's economic growth, the government said, Thursday.

The country will also spend nearly 11 trillion won ($8.39 billion) to bring inflation down below 3 percent within the first half of the year and clear other hurdles on private spending, another economic growth engine that faces a less optimistic outlook than exports.

According to the 2024 economic policy directions announced jointly by relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Korea will also bolster support for a range of foreigners, including investors, tourists and manual laborers, as it struggles with a demographic crisis that can increasingly dent GDP growth in the long term.

Asia's fourth-largest economy is forecast to grow 2.2 percent in 2024, up from 1.4 percent last year, driven by exports, which are projected to expand 8.5 percent after shrinking 7.4 percent the previous year.

Correspondingly, the country's current account balance is forecast to log a surplus of $50 billion this year, up from $31 billion in 2023.

"We are expected to attain higher growth than other developed economies thanks to an overall recovery of exports," President Yoon Suk Yeol said at the meeting on people's livelihoods, during which the economic policy directions were announced.

He said that positive economic indexes are meaningful only when they are "felt" by people in their daily lives.

"If they can't feel the effects of good macroeconomic indexes, it is due to a lack of detailed policy," he said.

Consumer inflation is forecast to ease to 2.6 percent in 2024 from 3.6 percent in 2023. But the pace of decrease is slower than expected, according to the government, and is anticipated to weaken private spending that will grow 1.8 percent this year, the same as last year.

“In that regard, the 2024 economic policy directions are intended to strengthen the country's recovery efforts while thoroughly tackling potential risks that can hamper such efforts,” said, Choi Sang-mok, deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance.

He highlighted that the government's policies are set under the four pillars of stabilizing the people's livelihood, managing potential risks, activating a dynamic economy and devising measures for future generations.

Enhanced support for foreigners

To achieve $700 billion in exports, the government will inject record 355 trillion won in trade financing, up from 345 trillion won.

It also plans to introduce a trade settlement mechanism using the Korean won, rather than U.S. dollars, for the first time ever.

It additionally will back Korean builders, nuclear power plant operators, defense contractors and other businesses to win mega-sized overseas projects worth $57 billion won in total.

More than 150 trillion won will be spent to nurture strategic industries, including semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotechnology, mobility and hydrogen energy.

The government will set aside 10.8 trillion won in its fight against inflation, including energy voucher programs and discount coupons for fruit, vegetables and other fresh foods.

It plans to reduce or completely lift duties on 21 kinds of fruit, the largest number ever, and import 300,000 tons at lower prices in the first half.

In a bid to minimize other economic risks, the government will step up a liquidity supply program worth 85 trillion won to stabilize the property market if needed to limit any spillover from debt troubles stemming from Taeyoung Engineering & Construction.

Foreigners also make up a crucial part in the country's path to cope with exports and private spending.

For instance, the government plans to attract a record $35 billion in foreign investments. For this, it will offer 200 billion won in cash incentives, which will be four times more than what was offered last year.

Concerning foreign tourists, it wants to attract 20 million travelers this year. It accordingly will newly waive visa application fee payments by group tourists from Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam in addition to China.

A “Duty Free Festa” for international travelers is scheduled to run for 40 days starting in May, offering discounts up to 30 percent on various items.

The quota for skilled and unskilled workers combined will rise by 100,000 in 2024 from a year earlier. To attract experts on cutting-edge technologies, the government will expand scholarship programs in engineering and also will revise its naturalization policy.