The COVID-19 outbreak will see the Korean economy contract for the first time since 1998, but we believe the sovereign's robust credit metrics can absorb this temporary shock. We forecast Korea's fiscal deficit to widen this year owing to stimulus measures before returning to modest surpluses over the medium term. We are affirming our 'AA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings on Korea. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the Korean economy will rebound in 2021 and return the government to near-balanced budget positions. The outlook is also predicated on our belief that geopolitical risks on the Korean peninsula will not escalate to the point of hurting Korea's economic fundamentals. On April 21, 2020, S&P Global Ratings affirmed
