Deputy PM Koo: Government Will Directly Intervene to Stabilize Market Amid Sharp Currency Swings
Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol, also Minister of Economy and Finance, has expressed the government's willingness to directly intervene and stabilize the market at an appropriate time if the exchange rate fluctuates excessively, diverging from the economy's fundamental strength. On this day, the won/dollar exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market surpassed 1,500 won, a level not seen since the 2009 financial crisis. Deputy Prime Minister Koo, also Minister of Economy and Finance, chaired an expanded macroeconomic and financial meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks in Seoul on the 19th, outlining plans for market stabilization measures following the sharp rise in the won/dollar exchange rate.
Government agencies, including the Bank of Korea, plan to mobilize all efforts to stabilize the market in response to foreign exchange market volatility. The government is operating a 24-hour monitoring system to address fluctuations in the financial and foreign exchange markets and is preparing to expand the market stabilization program to 100 trillion won plus alpha. Deputy Prime Minister Koo, also Minister of Economy and Finance, stated that he is closely monitoring the foreign exchange market situation and intends to take market stabilization measures in a timely manner if the won's movement deviates excessively from fundamentals.
Meeting attendees agreed on the need for a supplementary budget to counter the burden of rising prices due to oil price increases and the deterioration of consumer sentiment. The government is focusing on stabilizing people's livelihoods while assessing crisis response capabilities under shock scenarios involving key variables such as oil prices and interest rates.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Bank of Korea, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment will sign a memorandum of understanding on March 24th to promote a pilot project for executing national treasury funds using digital currency. Deputy Prime Minister Koo, also Minister of Economy and Finance, has set a goal to convert a quarter of national treasury fund executions to digital currency by 2030.
The meeting held at the Korea Federation of Banks in Seoul was attended by Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin, and Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young, among others.