Anchor: The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that the South Korean economy grew at the slowest pace in six years last year. As the International Monetary Fund predicted gloomy economic conditions for this year, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki noted the government will try to prevent the economy from growing worse than last year. 
Lee Bo-kyung has this story.

Report: According to the advance estimate by the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the nation's economy expanded two-point-seven percent in 2018, slowing down from three-point-one percent the previous year.

That's the lowest on-year growth since 2012, when the economy grew two-point-three percent. 

But the growth did meet the BOK's revised forecast in October and the government's target set at two-point-six percent to two-point-seven percent, thanks to the last-minute spurt in the fourth quarter.

On the back of heavy fiscal spending, the economy in the last quarter expanded by one percent from three months earlier, or three-point-one-percent year-on-year.

Despite this, the global economic conditions are still not friendly for South Korea down the road. 

In its World Economic Outlook report released on Monday, the International Monetary Fund(IMF) lowered its global economic growth outlook for this year to three-point-five percent. That's point-two percentage points lower compared to its previous prediction in October. 

The IMF said that amid continued trade tensions between the U.S. and China and concerns over China's economic slowdown, investment sentiment has weakened in the financial market.  

Following the IMF report, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki assured reporters on Monday that the government would work to prevent economic growth from slowing any further. 

Last month, the government set its target growth at two-point-six to two-point-seven percent for 2019. 
Lee Bo-kyung, KBS World Radio News.