The South Korean economy continues to face uncertainties amid global price hikes but conditions are expected to improve from the second half of the year, the country's finance minister said Thursday.

Choo Kyung-ho, who is double-hatted as deputy prime minister, also said the country will work to keep prices down.

Economic conditions for South Korea "are believed to gradually show signs of improvement," Choo told reporters.

The South Korean finance minister is currently on a trip to Washington for the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting.

"The government will not let its guard down and closely monitor market conditions since economic uncertainties continue to remain very high while there also exist sources of financial instability," he added.

However, conditions will soon begin to improve for the South Korean economy, Choo insisted.

"I had already said that conditions will be extremely difficult (for the South Korean economy) from the fourth quarter and throughout the first half of this year, but they will show improvements as we move through the first half to the second half of the year," he said.

Choo highlighted that leading global institutions namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund anticipate further improvements for the South Korean economy next year.

The IMF slashed its 2023 economic growth outlook for South Korea to 1.5 percent earlier this month, a 0.2 percentage point cut from three months earlier, while forecasting a 2.4 percent on-year growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy in 2024.

The finance minister said the country's price increases are also on the wane but that the government will continue to work to keep prices down.

"Price hikes are showing signs of slowing from their peak at 6.3 percent but consumer price hikes remain fairly high at 4.2 percent," said Choo.

"And that is why maintaining a strong initiative to keep prices stabilized remains a top policy priority," he added. (Yonhap)