Vice Minister of Economy and Finance: "Will Actively Respond to Excessive Concentration in Financial Markets... Considering Additional Measures"

Bang Gi-seon, 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] Bang Gi-seon, the 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, said on the 14th, "Considering the financial market situation that has become sensitive to major domestic and international issues recently, we will strengthen market monitoring," adding, "We will actively respond to excessive market concentration phenomena and, if necessary, review additional measures according to contingency plans for each market."

Vice Minister Bang made these remarks during the 2nd Macroeconomic Financial Meeting held in the morning at the Bankers' Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, attended by related agencies including the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the International Finance Center. This statement is interpreted as an effort to block the possibility of increased financial market volatility following the Bank of Korea's historic first 'big step' (a 0.5 percentage point increase in the base interest rate) the previous day and the announcement that the U.S. June Consumer Price Index rose by 9.1%, the largest increase in about 40 years.

Regarding the recent market situation, Vice Minister Bang analyzed, "The recent expansion of global financial market volatility is due to overlapping factors such as supply chain shocks and rising oil prices, which have triggered inflation concerns, alongside worries about economic slowdown caused by accelerated interest rate hikes in response to these issues." He added, "Our financial market is also reacting sensitively to rising inflation and signs of economic slowdown, showing a high degree of synchronization with global markets."

However, on the base interest rate hike, he evaluated, "Market expectations had been reflected in advance, and the magnitude of the rate hike and messages regarding the future pace of increases were in line with market expectations," adding, "As a result, monetary policy uncertainty was largely resolved, and our financial market rather showed stability."

Vice Minister Bang stated, "As market uncertainty continues, the government and related agencies will do their best to minimize the negative impact of global risk factors on the domestic financial market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.