Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said that the South Korean economy is expected to grow between two and two-point-one percent this year, down point-four percentage points from the government's forecasts.

The minister made the remarks on Friday to reporters on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington.

Hong said that this year's economic growth will likely be about the same level of the growth estimates announced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The IMF recently slashed its growth forecast for South Korea's economy this year to two percent from its previous outlook of two-point-six percent amid a global economic slowdown.

The OECD also cut its growth outlook for the country to two-point-one percent, down from its previous forecast of two-point-four percent.

The minister projected the economy will grow between two-point-two and two-point-three percent next year, similar to the estimates by the IMF and the OECD.