The government said on the 14th that if a strike at Samsung Electronics becomes a reality, it could pose a significant risk across growth, exports, and financial markets. It added that there should not be a strike and that the issue needs to be resolved quickly through principled negotiations between labor and management.
The government held a Market Situation Review Meeting that day, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Koo Yun-cheol. With a U.S.-China summit approaching, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eog-weon, and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin attended. Participants reviewed recent trends and risk factors in the financial and foreign exchange markets and discussed response directions.
Participants agreed that, regarding the recent won-dollar exchange rate, volatility is expanding excessively compared with our economy's fundamentals. The exchange rate rose from the 1,430-won range at the end of Feb. to the 1,490-won range the previous day. On the rise in the exchange rate, participants analyzed that, with risk factors such as the Middle East war, rising international oil prices, and major countries' interest rate paths persisting, there has been a recent increase in foreign investors' stock selling and offshore speculative transaction.
However, participants predicted that thanks to a current account surplus at a record-high level, the foreign exchange market will stabilize once external uncertainties such as the Middle East war ease.