Vice Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok recently acknowledged that political uncertainties have influenced the sharp rise in exchange rates. Choi noted, "Half of the causes for the rise in exchange rates were due to political events, while the other half was due to the strong dollar."
Choi stated this on the 23rd during a press conference held at the press room of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance at the government complex in Sejong, saying, “When looking at the situation before and after the ‘unfortunate event,’ the exchange rates increased significantly from that time.” The 'unfortunate event' referred to by Choi is the ‘Dec. 3 martial law incident.’
As the won-dollar exchange rate surpasses 1,450 won for the first time in 15 years and shows unstable trends, Minister Choi emphasized, “It would not be an accurate analysis to say that the current level is solely due to domestic factors” and added, “The foreign exchange authorities will take strong market stabilization measures together with the Bank of Korea regarding the rapid fluctuations in the exchange rate.”
Regarding the martial law incident, Choi noted, “As a cabinet member who has served in the administration for 38 years, I have been asked many questions about whether South Korea’s constitutional system is functioning well externally due to this incident,” and explained, “Various reasons led to the unfortunate event, but foreign evaluations state that South Korea’s constitution is functioning well.”
He continued, “I believe the National Assembly is at the center of the constitutional system,” and added, “There is also suspicion and criticism about whether the cabinet members and the administration have played their roles. I take full responsibility for this.”
Additionally, Choi mentioned, “Many administrative staff, including those in the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, are diligently fulfilling their duties,” and added, “This situation has provided an opportunity to reflect on how the roles of the administration and the National Assembly should function within the framework of the separation of powers.”
Concerning the opposition party's suggestion of the impeachment possibility of acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Choi stated, “We are doing our utmost to firmly establish and stably manage our economy’s external credibility, with acting President Han at the center.” If the possibility of Prime Minister Han’s impeachment materializes, Choi, as the next in the line of succession, could take over the national governance in the absence of leadership.
In response to a question related to the veto of the special investigation law on treason, Minister Choi stated, “While making decisions, the acting President will either seek opinions from cabinet members or proceed with the procedure in the cabinet meeting,” and added, “As a cabinet member, I believe it's inappropriate to express my personal opinions before participating in the meeting.”
Minister Choi refrained from commenting on the recent controversy surrounding a document containing directives from President Yoon Suk-yeol during the martial law period. It is known that the police recently received an original directive document of one A4-sized paper from Choi during an inquiry, in which he was questioned as a reference. The document reportedly contained orders such as ‘Cut off the National Assembly’s operational funds’ and ‘Allocate the budget for the martial law legislative branch operation.’
Minister Choi stated, “I will not answer that directly,” avoiding specific comments. He added, “I will replace this with an answer to the National Assembly.” On the 17th, during an urgent inquiry session of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, Choi revealed that he submitted the document received from President Yoon to investigative authorities. He noted, “During a cabinet meeting, I received a folded note from a staff member,” and added, “I do not remember the exact wording, but it included content related to ‘securing financial funds.’”