S KOREAN ACTING PREMIER PREDICTS 6PCT ECONOMIC GROWTH.

YANGPYEONG, South Korea, April 3 Asia Pulse - Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Sunday the country's economy will grow about 6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, despite some uncertainties.

"Acceleration in domestic consumption and solid exports helped correct an imbalance between domestic consumption and exports," Han, concurrently minister of finance and economy, said in a workshop for ruling party lawmakers here.

Han's prediction for the gross domestic product (GDP) is slightly higher than that of the country's Finance Ministry earlier this year. The ministry expected it to grow about 5 per cent in the first quarter.

"The trend of economic recovery will continue for a considerable period of time unless there is a big change in the external situation," he said. "I think the GDP will grow at an annualized rate of 5 per cent in spite of worsening external conditions earlier this year."

He told the lawmakers that the continuing economic recovery will likely raise employment by an estimated maximum of 400,000 jobs this year, while inflation will stabilize to about 3 per cent.

As for the growing gap between rich and poor, Han said ...