No need to fret over Europe crisis, experts say

No need to fret over Europe crisis, experts say 

Watching the Greek debt crisis, many Koreans fear that the country’s robustly-recovering economy may get bogged down again by a problem from outside the country, and thus one they have no control over. 
However, foreign experts participating in a forum in Seoul yesterday, saw the likelihood of that happening being very low. 
“(The European debt crisis) is not going to have the same impact (on Korea) as the U.S. subprime debt crisis had in 2008,” said Jeffrey Shafer, vice chairman of Citi’s Global Banking. 
What’s going to happen is that global investors will look for safer places to park their money instead of trouble-ridden European countries, which will benefit Korea and emerging economies in Asia, he said. 
The challenge for Korea will be how to keep that money coming in and not lose control, he added. 
Some Southern European countries are struggling with huge government debt, after spending aggressively to fight a global economic recession. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund are planning a rescue package for Greece and other crisis-hit countries. 
Michael Pomerleano, an advisor at the World Bank in Washington, was upbeat that Korea would continue economic growth, avoiding the fallout of the European troubles, although he offered a very grim outlook for Greece. 
“Greece will default. The only debatable issue is when,” he said. “Asia, however, is far more robust than the rest of the world and is increasing trade with other vibrant emerging economies,” he added. “It is time that Korea thought strategically about repositioning its (trade) focus.”
China, for example, has become a bigger trade partner for Brazil than the United States is, he said. 
Choi Do-soung, a member of the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee, said the European problem was unlikely to spark another global crisis financial crisis. 
“Even if the worst-case scenario becomes reality, I think Korea still has measures available to respond to the crisis,” he said. 
Authorities here have repeatedly said that the eurozone woes will not have a major impact on Korea, citing the nation’s low level of exposure to the troubled European countries.