WGBI Brings Inflow of Japanese Capital... Foreign Investors Net 4 Trillion Won in Government Bonds Over Three Days

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yoon-chul is taking a commemorative photo with attendees before the Market Situation Review Meeting held at the Federation of Korean Banks in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 2nd. From the left in the photo are Lee Chan-jin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service; Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea; Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yoon-chul; and Lee Eok-won, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. Ministry of Finance and Economy

With the inclusion of Korea in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI), foreign investors—including those from Japan—have purchased over 4 trillion won worth of Korean government bonds.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yoon-chul announced this during a joint Market Situation Review Meeting with relevant agencies held at the Korea Federation of Banks on the morning of April 2.

The meeting was attended by Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea; Lee Eok-won, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission; and Lee Chan-jin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service.

With the official inclusion of government bonds in the WGBI starting from April 1, it was tallied that foreign investors made a net purchase of 4.4 trillion won in government bonds over the three-day period beginning March 30.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated, "We expect this to contribute to the stability of the bond and foreign exchange markets going forward," and added, "We will continue to closely monitor the inflow of funds by operating a joint 'Ongoing Monitoring and Investment Promotion Task Force' with relevant agencies."

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, he noted that market volatility continues, explaining, "Thanks to market stabilization measures such as the 5 trillion won emergency buyback program, volatility in the government bond market has eased, and the 'Domestic Market Return Account' (RIA), launched under the 'Foreign Exchange Market Stabilization Tax Act' passed by the National Assembly, is also receiving a strong response from investors."

In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister Koo plans to visit financial institutions in person on April 3 to inspect the status of RIA subscriptions and assess the market response.

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