Ambassador Choi Jong-ku emphasized that South Korea's political and economic systems are operating stably during visits to Singapore and Hong Kong, targeting major foreign investors such as BlackRock.
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on the 16th, Ambassador Choi held a South Korea economic briefing (IR) on the 13th (local time) at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia hotel in Singapore.
This IR is the first held by the South Korean government since the state of emergency declared in December last year. Major agencies, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, the Korea Investment Corporation, and the International Financial Center, participated together to provide accurate and detailed information to global investors.
The event was attended by senior executives from major global asset management firms, including BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, and PIMCO, one of the largest bond managers. The meeting was focused around about 10 key personnel to facilitate more effective two-way communication.
Ambassador Choi stressed that the recent political uncertainties are being orderly resolved under the constitutional and legal framework, and that the country is being managed stably under the acting President Choi Sang-mok's regime.
He also emphasized that South Korea promptly announced market stabilization measures immediately after the declaration of martial law, effectively controlling risks related to non-economic factors through a robust economic system, and as a result, South Korea's financial and foreign exchange markets recovered rapidly.
In fact, the credit rating agency Fitch recently maintained South Korea's credit rating and outlook (AA-, stable) as unchanged. The credit default swap (CDS) premium, which indicates the risk of sovereign default, has also returned to levels seen before the martial law situation, demonstrating that international confidence in the South Korean economy remains intact.
Ambassador Choi noted the stable foreign exchange reserves, which rank 9th in the world as of December last year, the record high net external financial assets totaling $1 trillion, and the low government debt ratio compared to major countries, explaining that the South Korean economy shows solid fundamentals.
During the Q&A session that followed the presentation, Ambassador Choi detailed his responses to key investor questions regarding future value-up policy initiatives, new U.S. government tariffs, and responses to medium- and long-term demographic issues.
Specifically, he replied regarding value-up, saying, "We will continue to make structural system improvements to the stock market, including follow-up measures from existing policies such as excellence awards for outstanding corporations and white papers, along with enhancing the reasonableness of public offerings (IPOs) and strengthening the requirements and procedures for delisting."
On the U.S. tariffs and medium- to long-term demographic issues, he noted, "We will have to watch how specific policies will unfold under the U.S. government, but the South Korean government is already preparing to respond with feasible multi-faceted scenarios in mind," adding, "For demographic issues, we will focus on effective tasks based on the analysis of the effectiveness of policies aimed at increasing the birth rate, while also pursuing a multi-dimensional approach that includes structural reforms to enhance productivity and secure the economic active population, such as women and foreigners."
Ambassador Choi also met with country credit rating officials from Fitch, Moody's, and S&P, the three major global credit rating agencies in Hong Kong and Singapore, to inform them about the current political and economic situation in South Korea and the policy direction. He also shared insights into global investors' perspectives on the South Korean economy.
A Ministry of Strategy and Finance official stated, "Ambassador Choi also exchanged views on investment banks' perspectives on South Korea's economic and political situation, meeting David Liao, co-head of HSBC Asia-Pacific, among others," adding, "Ambassador Choi will continue to hold IR meetings on the South Korean economy in international financial centers such as New York and London, and meet with major figures in global credit rating agencies and finance."