Hyung-il Lee, the acting Minister of Strategy and Finance and the first vice minister, urged today (the 22nd) that “each agency should closely cooperate with heightened vigilance in response to the new phase of the Middle East situation and take necessary actions swiftly if any unusual trends arise.”
At a joint emergency response meeting of related agencies concerning the Middle East crisis held this afternoon, Lee stated, “The Middle East situation presents high uncertainty, especially regarding Iran’s potential responses,” and emphasized, “Each agency should meticulously monitor the developments in the Middle East and their impact on both the financial and real economies.”
The meeting was attended via conference call by representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the International Finance Center.
The government assesses that since Israel’s airstrike on Iran on the 13th, international oil prices have risen, and there is somewhat increased volatility in the domestic financial markets.
Comparing key indices between the 12th and the 20th, the price of Dubai crude oil increased by 12.1%, and the won/dollar exchange rate rose by 6.9 won, respectively.
Currently, domestic energy reserves and supplies are being maintained without issues, with 31 Korean ships operating safely near the Middle East, indicating no unusual occurrences in shipping and logistics.
However, given the high uncertainty over the future development of the situation, the government plans to monitor Middle Eastern local situations and sectoral trends such as finance, energy, imports and exports, and shipping logistics around the clock, centering on the joint emergency response team of related agencies.
The government also plans to respond quickly according to emergency response plans (contingency plans) if necessary.
Particularly, if the financial market shows excessive volatility disconnected from the fundamentals of the Korean economy, it intends to take immediate and bold actions.
Additionally, the government aims to ensure meticulous management of energy supplies.
To minimize impacts on imports and exports and logistics, support measures such as providing liquidity to businesses affected by exports to the Middle East and offering dedicated shipping space for small and medium-sized enterprises will be steadily implemented.
If concerns about logistics bottlenecks increase, additional support measures such as deploying temporary ships will also be pursued.
(Photo = Yonhap News)