Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday that it is inevitable that the new coronavirus outbreak will impact economic growth.

When asked by ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Shim Ki-joon about the negative economic fallout during a parliament committee meeting, the minister said some global agencies including the OECD have already lowered South Korea's growth outlook for this year by zero-point-two to zero-point-three percentage points or more.

He said the scope of the impact requires further observation but the situation is more serious than the MERS outbreak.

Hong said what's particularly concerning is that a downturn in the global economy across the board may again have ripple effects on Korea.

The Bank of Korea lowered the country's 2020 growth forecast from two-point-three to two-point-one percent late last month.

Regarding possible special disaster zone designations related to the outbreak, the finance chief said the government is considering them, even if it means relaxing the required conditions.