[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- Bowing to U.S. pressure to introduce a transparent foreign exchange policy, South Korea pledged Thursday to disclose records on market intervention gradually and periodically, saying there would be obvious intervention in the event of sudden movements.
For a year, South Korea will publicly report its foreign-exchange intervention every six months. Later on, the amount of net transactions carried out by foreign exchange authorities will be disclosed on a quarterly basis.
The new policy decided at a meeting of economic ministers on Thursday followed a U.S. decision in April to kept South Korea on its "monitoring" list. South Korea has not opened acknowledged market intervention, saying only it has been involved in "smoothing operations" against extreme one-sided movements.
"Plans to enhance transparency in our foreign exchange policy will be implemented gradually in accordance with the international level, but taking into consideration the market capacity," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said, adding the disclosure of market intervention will help South Korea raise foreign credibility and dispel "unnecessary misunderstandings" about its foreign exchange policy.
"The existing principle of stabilizing the market in the event of sudden movements remains unchanged," he said, calling for gradual steps to minimize any negative impact on the market.
South Korea has been accused of exercising undue influence on exchange rates. Washington has vowed to fight unfair currency practices, saying it will not bear the burden of an international trading system that unfairly disadvantages American exports and gives an edge to its trading partners.
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