Floor leader Song Eon-seog of the People Power Party on the 20th criticized the situation of a high exchange rate in which the won-dollar rate is hovering above 1,500 won against the U.S. dollar, saying it was "clearly due to the Lee Jae-myung administration's failure to manage the exchange rate."
At a floor countermeasures meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, the floor leader said regarding the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holding the benchmark rate at 3.50% to 3.75% annually, "The Federal Reserve's decision is a clear signal suggesting the possibility of a prolonged period of high interest rates, going beyond a simple rate freeze."
He added, "Yesterday, the won-dollar rate surpassed 1,500 won at the close for the first time in 17 years, and volatility in the stock market is also expanding," and said, "The high exchange rate was not suddenly triggered by the war in the Middle East."
He went on, "Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, a high exchange rate in the upper 1,400-won range has become entrenched from the second half of last year," and said, "The fundamental causes of the high exchange rate include multiple factors such as concerns over an annual $20 billion outflow of foreign currency due to failure in tariff negotiations, and large companies under pressure to invest in the United States holding off on converting dollars."
The floor leader said, "Amid a mounting complex economic crisis of high interest rates, high oil prices, and a high exchange rate leading to an economic downturn, the government and the ruling party are not interested in economic policies, including measures against stagflation, and are focused only on political maneuvers such as destroying the judiciary, dismantling the prosecution, and wiping away the president's crimes."