By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance said, “We will continue peacetime-like policy responses to ensure that foreign investment and economic activities do not shrink under any circumstances.”

His remarks were made during his meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Mizushima at the Government Complex in Seoul on Dec. 9.

“The recent political situation is likely to raise concerns among Korean companies and their home countries, but the government and the Bank of Korea are working together to proactively respond to financial and foreign exchange market volatility,” Choi said, explaining that ”our economic system is solid and the government's emergency response system is working stably.” 

Choi also stressed, “Based on past experiences, shocks caused by non-economic factors such as politics have been limited and have little impact in the medium to long term. We will continue to make every effort to maintain trust and promote economic cooperation between our two countries.”

During the meeting, Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Mizushima appreciated the Korean government's efforts to stabilize the economic situation and requested that close communication continue.

“We will continue to communicate closely with the embassies of major countries to reduce unnecessary misunderstandings about our economic situation and explain our policy response efforts,” the ministry said.