Lee Chang-yong: "No Discussion of Contingency Funds at F4 Meeting Immediately After Martial Law"

"Discussion on Measures to Stabilize the Foreign Exchange Market and Whether to Open the Stock Market"
Economic Impact of Martial Law: "Cannot Deny Considerable Damage"

Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, reiterated that "there was no discussion of contingency funds at all" regarding the content of the macroeconomic and financial issues meeting (F4 meeting) held immediately after the December 3 emergency martial law declaration.

Yonhap News

Governor Lee appeared at the second hearing of the 'Special Committee on the National Investigation into the Charges of Rebellion through the Declaration of Emergency Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration (National Investigation Special Committee)' held at the National Assembly on the 4th, stating, "The meeting was held to stabilize the market because the market situation became difficult due to the emergency situation."

Governor Lee held the F4 meeting on December 3 last year, around 11:40 p.m., at the Bankers' Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, chaired by then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, with Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Byung-hwan and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun. It was explained that the meeting discussed measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market amid the sharp rise in the exchange rate at the time and whether the stock market would open the next day.

When asked if there was any discussion about securing contingency funds, he replied, "There was none at all," adding, "Because the market situation became difficult due to the emergency martial law, the meeting was about ways to stabilize the market." He continued, "The F4 meeting is not a meeting where issues like contingency funds can be addressed. The meetings have been held over the past two years to stabilize the financial market regardless of the budget, so such discussions could not have taken place, nor was there any information about it."

Regarding the economic impact of the martial law, he said, "It is still ongoing, so it is difficult to comment at this stage," but added, "It is an undeniable fact that there has been considerable damage."

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