PiCK

Koo Yun-cheol: "Monitoring the exchange rate with heightened vigilance"

Source

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol said he is checking and monitoring the exchange rate daily with heightened vigilance.
He said the current exchange-rate situation reflects a shock driven by external variables, and could change if those factors stabilize.
Koo said Korea is not short of dollars, noting more than $400 billion in foreign exchange reserves and over $1 trillion in foreign-currency assets including the private sector.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said on the 4th, regarding the exchange rate, that he is "monitoring it by checking it every day with heightened vigilance."

Koo made the remarks at a plenary meeting of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on U.S. Investment, responding to a related question from Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party, saying that "the current situation has seen shocks arising from external variables."

He added that "things could change if the external shock factors stabilize quickly."

In response to claims that "Korea needs to conclude a Korea-U.S. currency swap," he said, "foreign exchange reserves are at a level exceeding $400 billion, and when including the private sector, Korea holds more than $1 trillion in foreign-currency assets," adding on the currency-swap issue that "the U.S. has the perception that Korea is not short of dollars."

Noh Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com