Financial Issues
South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy & Finance Yoo Il-ho, who is staying in Washington D.C. to take part in the annual general meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, had an interview with Bloomberg on October 8 and said that the South Korean government is willing to open the history of its intervention in the foreign exchange market after the country’s accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
At present, the Barack Obama administration is looking forward to the ratification of the TPP by the Congress between November 14 and December 16. Japan is planning to ratify it within this year, too. Both U.S. presidential candidates are opposed to the TPP though. The South Korean government is planning to decide on its stance after the U.S. presidential election after looking into the progress of the ratification in multiple countries.
Regarding the currency swap between South Korea and Japan, the Deputy Prime Minister explained that both sides recently agreed to resume their talks and they are currently having working-level talks. “The size of the upcoming currency swap agreement has yet to be determined and the two sides have set no deadline so that the result of the talks can become optimal,” he mentioned, adding, “We are discussing not only the size of the agreement but also how to make use of it in the fields including trade finance.”