Reuters
South Korea's public finances are no longer a strength for its sovereign credit rating but are now a neutral factor requiring near-term efforts to contain the rise in debt, global ratings agency Fitch said. Last month, when Fitch affirmed South Korea's credit rating at "AA-" with a stable outlook, it expected the country's sovereign debt ratio to rise to 51.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, higher than the median of 48.5% for "AA" rated countries, and to 53.6% by 2028, diverging from a downward trend forecast for the "AA" median.