LG Economic Research Institute has lowered its 2016 growth forecast for South Korea to two-point-five percent.
 
It is down zero-point-two percentage points from its previous outlook in September. It also lags behind the government's prediction of three-point-one percent and the two-point-eight percent estimate by Hyundai Research Institute.
 
LG said the global economic environment in 2016 will be worse than 2015 due to a slowdown in the U.S. economy and slow growth in China. As a result, the research institute expects a zero-point-seven percent fall in South Korean exports.
 
It said the domestic economy, such as private consumption and construction investment, will have a hard time sustaining its recovery.
 
LG said the government should focus its economic policy on expanding the nation's long-term growth potential rather than short-term revitalization measures.