South Korea risks Japanese-style economic slump

More than seven out of 10 South Korean economic experts believe that the country's economy could face a Japanese-style long-term slump, a survey showed Sunday. The email survey released by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) found that 73.8 percent of 42 economists and professors said there is a high possibility that Asia's fourth-largest economy could trod the path of Japan, citing lackluster spending and investment as well as a low birthrate and aging population. Japan suffered a slump for two decades following the burst of its bubble economy in 1990. The survey also showed that eight out of ten respondents called for efforts to strengthen growth potential and revitalize spending and investment to avert a Japanese-style slump. South Korea's GDP expanded 1.1 percent in the April-June period from three months earlier, the fastest quarterly growth since the 1.3 percent growth in the first quarter of 2011, the Bank of Korea said earlier this month. The FKI that speaks for the country's large businesses said it questioned 42 economists and professors between Aug. 5 and Aug. 26.