S. KOREAN EXPORTS RISE 1.3% IN AUGUST ON YEAR

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of Press Perspective.

It's September THIRD here in Seoul.

I'm Min Sunhee.

Economy has been at the center of the Lee Jae Myung administration's national agenda this week.

For more I have Lee Ji-hoon with Reuters here in the studio.

Ji-hoon welcome back.

I also have Professor Yang Hee-dong at Ewha Womans University.

Professor Yang it's good to have you on.

Ji-hoon, let's begin with your coverage for Reuters about Korea's exports for the month of August.

Professor Yang, Bloomberg says Korea's exports stayed solid, while the Wall Street Journal says exports slowed.

How do you assess South Korea's exports for the month of August?

Professor Yang, findings for August also show South Korean shipments to the U.S. and China slumped, while those to Southeast Asia surged.

Could export market and product diversification help to offset the impact of U.S. tariffs?

And Ji-hoon, for the sake of context, do tell us a bit about the concern raised by the Bank of Korea in light of the 15% U.S. tariffs on South Korean products.

Meanwhile, Ji-hoon, as part of efforts to bolster growth, the Lee administration has shared a budget proposal that surpasses 700 trillion won for the first time.

Do tell us more about this proposal and its objectives.

Professor Yang, generally speaking, what are the risks and rewards of an expansionary fiscal policy?

Ji-hoon, some have flagged the growing debt-to-GDP ratio amid the expansion in spending.

Do give us the numbers.

Professor Yang, simply speaking, what is the debt-to-GDP ratio, and should we be concerned about the rise in South Korea's debt-to-GDP ratio?

Ji-hoon, we have some time left, so let's quickly touch upon South Korea's consumer prices, which dropped to a nine-month low in August.

Do tell us about this finding and its implications.

All right.