ID :
25920
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 09:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/25920
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea deputy finance minister says country's econ woes exaggerated
TOKYO, Oct. 21 Kyodo - The South Korean economy is fundamentally sound and its current banking woes are exaggerated and different from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the country's deputy finance minister said Tuesday.
''We have a relatively sound banking and financial system,'' Shin Je Yoon said
at a press briefing in Tokyo.
''It's quite different from the 1997 crisis,'' he said, adding the corporate
sector in South Korea has enough dollar reserves to weather a global liquidity
crunch.
The South Korean deputy minister for international affairs at the Ministry of
Strategy and Finance sought to further allay the fears of jittery investors
after the government on Sunday announced a $100 billion package of foreign
currency payment guarantees for domestic banks to help stabilize the nation's
volatile financial markets.
''We do not want the financial turmoil to affect our real sector,'' Shin said,
calling the financial package ''preemptive, decisive and sufficient.''
On the recent sharp depreciation of the South Korean won, Shin said it will
help to boost the nation's exports particularly in the services sector, but
emphasized the impact from fluctuations in the currency rate is limited
compared to the past.
''The sensitivity or elasticity to forex (foreign exchange) rate is not as much
as in the past because Korean products are based on quality, not the price,''
Shin said.
The won has shed over 55 percent against the dollar and about 45 percent
against the yen compared to a year earlier as worries about the
export-dependent economy and about the health of its domestic banks battered
confidence in both the South Korean currency and stocks.
Earlier this month, the Bank of Korea lowered interest rates for the first time
in four years citing growing downside economic risks due to ''the international
financial market unrest and global economic slowdown.''
Shin also admitted that ''if there is a shock in the international market,
inevitably the Korean economy will have some impact from this sudden change.''
''We have a relatively sound banking and financial system,'' Shin Je Yoon said
at a press briefing in Tokyo.
''It's quite different from the 1997 crisis,'' he said, adding the corporate
sector in South Korea has enough dollar reserves to weather a global liquidity
crunch.
The South Korean deputy minister for international affairs at the Ministry of
Strategy and Finance sought to further allay the fears of jittery investors
after the government on Sunday announced a $100 billion package of foreign
currency payment guarantees for domestic banks to help stabilize the nation's
volatile financial markets.
''We do not want the financial turmoil to affect our real sector,'' Shin said,
calling the financial package ''preemptive, decisive and sufficient.''
On the recent sharp depreciation of the South Korean won, Shin said it will
help to boost the nation's exports particularly in the services sector, but
emphasized the impact from fluctuations in the currency rate is limited
compared to the past.
''The sensitivity or elasticity to forex (foreign exchange) rate is not as much
as in the past because Korean products are based on quality, not the price,''
Shin said.
The won has shed over 55 percent against the dollar and about 45 percent
against the yen compared to a year earlier as worries about the
export-dependent economy and about the health of its domestic banks battered
confidence in both the South Korean currency and stocks.
Earlier this month, the Bank of Korea lowered interest rates for the first time
in four years citing growing downside economic risks due to ''the international
financial market unrest and global economic slowdown.''
Shin also admitted that ''if there is a shock in the international market,
inevitably the Korean economy will have some impact from this sudden change.''
