The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Sept 6 (Reuters) - South Korea should maintain current, restrictive monetary and fiscal policies as it needs to take steps to return to sustainable finances and address inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. Instead of undermining economic growth, the prudent fiscal policy is judged to be instrumental in keeping South Korea's economic fundamentals strong in the medium term, Finger said at a press conference. Finger told reporters the IMF decided not to evaluate South Korea's foreign exchange reserve adequacy based on its Assessing Reserve Adequacy (ARA) metrics from July. The measure is mostly for emerging economies, and given its economic characteristics, it is more appropriate to assess South Korea's on a scenario basis, Finger said.

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Persons: Yuri Gripas, Harald Finger, Finger, China's, Cynthia Kim, Jihoon Lee, Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Monetary Fund, REUTERS, Rights, International Monetary Fund, South Korean, Bank of Korea, IMF, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, Korea