Overview
- Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol met with Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song and senior market regulators in Seoul on Thursday, June 4 to review recent foreign exchange and market moves and pledge rapid responses if needed.
- Authorities said they are watching the foreign exchange market closely but did not announce any specific intervention when they met on June 4.
- Officials and meeting participants linked the recent won weakness to risk shifts from the Middle East war and continued net selling by foreign investors who have been rebalancing after a local stock rally.
- The finance ministry stressed that Korea’s macro fundamentals remain strong with exports up 53.2 percent year-on-year in May and the stock market ranking among the world’s largest by capitalization.
- Regulators warned that a recent rise in margin loans could amplify market stress, and they said they will monitor margin borrowing and take steps to protect investors to limit second-order risks to the financial system.