SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's finance minister said the downside risk to the government's forecast of 2.6% for this year's economic growth had expanded, the Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.

Economic growth is likely to be still higher than the potential growth rate, Minister Choi Sang-mok said in a meeting with reporters in Washington D.C., according to the report.

International organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), estimate South Korea's annual potential growth rate to be around 2%. South Korea's economy barely grew in the third quarter as consumer spending showed signs of recovery but exports declined, data showed on Thursday.