Moody's Investors Service said on Saturday it had upgraded South Korea's issuer and bond ratings to Aa2 from Aa3, the highest ever for the country, and changed the outlook from positive to stable. "Korea's very high institutional strength will support continued implementation of structural reforms, further promoting economic and fiscal resilience," Moody's said in a statement.
The ratings agency added South Korea's economic and fiscal strength compares strongly to its peers and would likely remain strong even amid weak external demand. Park Joon-kyu, a spokesman for the finance ministry, said the upgrade was positive for the South Korean economy, coming a few days after the US Federal Reserve decided to raise rates. "Investors will start cherry picking among emerging market economies, and this only shows South Korea is resilient among them," Park told Reuters by telephone. Moody's raised its outlook on South Korea in April and Standard and Poor's and Fitch announced similar upgrades earlier this year.