Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for the economy and Minister of Economy and Finance, Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea, Lee Eog-weon, chair of the Financial Services Commission, and Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said on the 14th that they held a market conditions review meeting and agreed to actively use available tools to respond if the won's value continues to fall.
Deputy Prime Minister Koo chaired the market conditions review meeting behind closed doors that day. At the meeting, participants said they were concerned about the widening swings in the exchange rate, with the won-dollar rate at one point topping 1,470 won against the U.S. dollar. They also were said to have agreed on the need to improve structural foreign exchange supply and demand.
Meeting participants also reached a consensus that "if the foreign exchange supply-demand imbalance driven by overseas investment persists, there is a need to actively use available tools to respond, recognizing that market participants' expectations for a weaker won could become entrenched and have a significant impact on the exchange rate's downward rigidity."
The government decided to draw up measures to stabilize the exchange rate soon. Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "The foreign exchange and financial authorities will closely analyze the causes of the exchange rate's rise to ensure stability in the national economy and the financial and foreign exchange markets, and will prepare exchange rate stabilization measures through close discussions with major supply-demand entities such as the National Pension Service and exporters."
Meanwhile, after Deputy Prime Minister Koo issued a de facto verbal intervention message to the exchange-rate market at 9:15 a.m., the won-dollar rate fell 10 won intraday (won appreciation). In the Seoul foreign exchange market that day, the won opened at 1,471.9 won, up 4.2 won from the previous day. After the deputy prime minister delivered his verbal intervention message, it fell more than 10 won, and as of 9:35 a.m., it was down more than 13 won.