Korea's slowdown will be temporary

Q4 GDP published overnight in Korea showed that growth eased to 0.2% q/q due to weaker exports and government spending. But the slowdown was inevitable after very strong GDP gains in Q2 and Q3. The upswing is not over and will almost certainly pick up speed again in coming quarters. The Bank of Korea (BoK) should have raised policy rates already but is likely to hike during the course of 2010. The won should appreciate this year as well but will probably continue to struggle near term.