Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, said on the 16th that if Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is impeached in the National Assembly, foreign entities will view it negatively.
Governor Lee appeared as a witness at the hearing regarding the impeachment of Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, held by the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee.
When People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum asked, "How will foreign entities view the situation in South Korea if the Deputy Prime Minister is impeached?" Lee replied, "It is a very political situation, but if we only consider the facts, in such a case there will be a negative perception."
Governor Lee also responded when fellow party member Park Jun-tae asked, "Will attempts to impeach cabinet members or criminal charges not negatively impact our country's external credibility?" stating that "overall political uncertainty does influence (national) creditworthiness."
Lawmakers from both parties also asked Governor Lee whether discussions about the emergency measures and the supplementary budget were held during the macroeconomic and financial issues meeting (F4 meeting) on the day the state of emergency was declared on December 3rd last year. In response, Governor Lee stated, "We planned to meet again at 7 a.m. to decide whether to open the stock market and suggested bringing in measures that each institution could take to stabilize the market, but no discussions on supplementary measures were held."