Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said on the 16th that "we will not tolerate herding in the market that could lead to an excessive depreciation of the won."
Deputy Prime Minister Koo said in a Reuters interview the same day that "depreciation pressure on the won in the foreign exchange market is stronger than we expected," and said, "Do not doubt the authorities' resolve to defend the value of the won."
She added, "Because herding in the market can fuel won weakness, we will swiftly implement the recently released market stabilization measures."
Koo also said, "The United States is assessing Korea's recent efforts positively," and "the United States likewise does not want an excessive depreciation of the won."
However, she drew a line at introducing additional macroprudential measures to slow the won's weakness. She explained, "We are pushing for inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index, and at a time when the internationalization of the won and a more open capital market are needed, we are not considering additional regulations."
Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, expressed the view that a total of $350 billion in investment in the United States is unlikely to get fully underway in the first half of this year. She said, "In a phase of won weakness, the likelihood of new, large-scale dollar outflows occurring is not high."
Deputy Prime Minister Koo explained, "Even if the nuclear power plant project is selected, it must go through several procedures, including site acquisition, design and construction," and said, "The initial investment scale will be much smaller than $20 billion per year."
However, she added, "As early as February, we will ask the National Assembly to review a bill to create a special fund related to investment in the United States and push the investment forward as quickly as possible."