Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on the 5th that "despite the favorable trend in Korea's economic situation, volatility in the financial and foreign exchange markets has recently increased," adding that authorities are "responding with particular vigilance." The won-dollar exchange rate topped 1,540 won in overnight trading the previous day, marking a record high for the first time in 17 years since the global financial crisis on Mar. 10, 2009.
Koo convened a meeting of the Emergency Economic Headquarters and the Ministers' Meeting on Economic Affairs that day and noted concerns even as he said, "The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently revised up Korea's growth rate from 1.7% to 2.6%, and the current account for April, announced just earlier, posted a surplus of $28.29 billion, bringing the cumulative current account surplus for January to April to an all-time high of $102.67 billion."
He said, "We will more firmly attend to people's livelihoods amid factors such as the impact of the Middle East war, and will fully embark on structural reforms for a great economic leap," adding, "We will also accelerate solutions to the structural challenges facing our economy, including promoting an ultra-innovation economy, regional investment, structural reform, and narrowing polarization."
Meanwhile, the meeting discussed ◇ a comprehensive plan for safety management in the agriculture and forestry sector and ◇ measures to expedite the 7th Regional Revitalization Investment Fund project. In particular, the government decided to simplify local governments' investment procedures to swiftly push ahead with the Jangseong, South Jeolla advanced data center project, which was selected as the 7th Regional Revitalization Investment Fund project. This is expected to move up the investment by 9 to 10 months, enabling the data center to begin operations in 2028.