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| Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom speaks in a meeting with senior economic and financial officials at the Seoul Government Complex, Monday. Yonhap |
South Korea's vice finance minister said Monday the government will swiftly take measures to stabilize its financial markets in case of increased volatility amid renewed concerns about the trade war between the United States and China.
Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom told a meeting with senior economic and financial officials that there is a possibility of increasing volatility if the U.S. slaps additional tariffs against China later this week.
"In case of a rise in volatility, the government will cope with its contingency plan," Kim told the meeting.
"If there is a sharp fluctuation in the foreign exchange market, the government will take steps to stabilize the market in a timely manner," Kim said.
Recently, foreign investors extended their selling binge to a 20th consecutive day, with the Korean won sharply falling against the U.S. dollar.
Kim said the recent foreign sell-off came after growing external uncertainties and a rebalancing of the MSCI index on Korean firms.
On Sunday, North Korea said it conducted a "very important test" at its long-range rocket launch site, dimming prospects of nuclear diplomacy with the U.S.
North Korea has set a year-end deadline for Washington to offer concessions in nuclear talks and threatened to terminate the dialogue phase and adopt a "new way" in case the U.S. refuses to change tack.
Kim told reporters that, if geopolitical tensions rise over the North's provocations, it would have a limited impact on the South Korean financial markets.
"The impact on the local financial markets from a rise in North Korea-U.S. tensions is not significant," Kim said. (Yonhap)
