Koo Yun-cheol: "We are monitoring the exchange rate with a strong sense of alertness... It will change once external factors stabilize"

According to Financial News, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said on the 4th, in response to the sharp rise in the won–dollar exchange rate, that "we are checking and monitoring it very closely every day with a strong sense of alertness."
Koo made these remarks at a plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Investment in the United States, responding to related questions from Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party. "The current situation reflects shocks stemming from external factors," he said.
Koo explained, "If these external shock factors stabilize quickly, the situation could change."
On the possibility of concluding a Korea–US currency swap agreement, Koo noted, "Korea's foreign exchange reserves exceed 400 billion dollars, and if we include the private sector, the country holds more than 1 trillion dollars in foreign currency assets." He added, "The United States believes that Korea is not in a situation where it is short of dollars."
He also urged the swift passage of the Special Act on Investment in the United States. Koo said, "The contents of the previous Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the Joint Fact Sheet were about achieving a balance of interests between Korea and the United States through tough negotiations," adding, "Based on that, we decided to pursue tariff reductions and investment in the United States, but if that balance is broken, uncertainty could actually increase. That is why the government believes the legislative procedures should move forward quickly."
He expressed partial agreement on the need for prior parliamentary oversight in the process of executing investments. Koo stated, "Even when it is called an investment, there can be no investment without risk," and continued, "From the perspective of the national interest, I agree with the basic idea that parliamentary oversight is needed to ensure that sound investments are made."
He said the investment funds will be raised by using returns from managing the foreign exchange reserves. Koo explained, "Basically, we plan to use the investment income from managing the foreign exchange reserves," and added, "It will be disbursed according to work progress, within an annual limit of 20 billion dollars. If there is any shortfall, we will issue dollar-denominated bonds overseas so as not to affect the domestic foreign exchange market."

syj@fnnews.com Seo Young-jun Reporter