Finance minister Choo Kyung-ho, who is in Washington to attend Group of 20 meetings, relayed views expressed by world leaders that the economic situation will be tough next year. 

Speaking to reporters at the International Monetary Fund headquarters in the U.S. capital on Friday, Choo said participants at the G20 gathering mostly agreed that economic conditions will become more difficult next year.

He said that countries acknowledged the need to strengthen global coordination to ride out the challenges and support vulnerable economies against high inflation. 

The minister said South Korea is no exception when it comes to tougher conditions next year and noted the government was pushing various measures such as regulatory reforms aimed at revitalizing the economy.

Choo said the G20 finance ministers meeting failed to adopt a joint statement this time due to differing opinions on whether to include language of concern and criticism regarding Russia's war in Ukraine in the final draft.

As for his meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday, Choo said the two sides agreed to continue talks on minimizing side effects of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act faced by Korean electric vehicle makers.