The South Korean government on Wednesday raised its economic growth forecast for this year and pledged to support small businesses and the construction industry, which have been struggling due to high interest rates, in the second half of 2024, according to Jinshi. South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said the government has prepared support measures totaling 25 trillion won (18 billion U.S. dollars). The Ministry of Finance predicts that the economy will grow by 2.6% in 2024, higher than the 2.2% forecast in January. The economic growth rate is expected to be 2.2% by 2025. On inflation, the Ministry of Finance maintained its forecast of 2.6% this year and said it expects CPI growth to slow to 2.1% in 2025.