Gov't will be alert on growing macro-economic difficulties, says Yoon

President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea instructed for thorough preparations in response to the increasingly difficult economic situations home and abroad, amid skyrocketing won-dollar exchange rate and widening trade balance deficits affecting the country.

The president stated that the domestic and global macro-economy is struggling even more than we’ve forecasted with experts from private sector from the (first) meeting of May 13, cautioning that with heightened volatilities in financial and currency markets, the possibility for global economic slowdown is growing during the second review meeting for macro-financial situations held in aT center, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

“While Korea economy’s external financial soundness has seen much improvements compared to where it was in the times of the past crises, we should not lose our focus,” President Yoon said. “(The government) will make sure to carry out exhaustive reviews and take actions to prevent any financial or currency crisis from happening again while not putting any more economic burdens on the nation’s shoulders.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Economy and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyun, and field experts from private sector were in the meeting with President Yoon. At the end of the meeting, the president again asked these experts to give alert on any issues you detect at the frontlines at any time. The administration will keep a real-time communications channel to take immediate responses to solve the problems while reminding his cabinet to manage risks by frequently communicating with the frontline workers who execute actions on a daily basis.


Su-Young Hong gaea@donga.com · Min-Woo Park minwoo@donga.com