Prolonged Middle East war casts shadow over Korea's 2% growth goal

The prolonged U.S.-Israel war on Iran is putting growing pressure on Korea’s exports and other economic activity, casting doubt on the government’s 2 percent economic growth goal for this year, economists said Tuesday. Following the outbreak of war in the Middle East in late February, downside risks to the Korean economy have grown. The country is expected to be hit particularly hard due to its heavy dependence on crude oil imports from the region, threatening the government’s growth target. Recent forecasts from major economic institutions generally place Korea's 2026 growth in the upper 1 percent range. On March 26, the OECD lowered its outlook for Korea’s economic growth to 1.7 percent from 2.1 percent, marking a 0.4 percentage point decline. The Asian Development Bank and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office each projected the nation's growth at 1.9 percent. The impact of the Middle East war had been relatively limited in key economic indicators last month. Consumer inflation rose slightly to 2.2 percent in March from 2 percent in February, remaining within the Bank of K

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