Commissioner Go Seung-beom: "KOSPI Decline Excessive, Excessive Anxiety Not Desirable"

On the 28th, Financial Services Commission Chairman Ko Seung-beom held a financial market inspection meeting at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where he reviewed market trends and risk factors with FSC executives in relation to the expanding volatility in the financial market.

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Ko Seung-beom, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stated that the recent decline in the KOSPI is excessive and that excessive anxiety is undesirable given the favorable economic conditions.

On the 28th, Chairman Ko held a financial market review meeting with Financial Services Commission executives to assess market trends and risk factors amid increased volatility in financial markets due to events such as the January U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Chairman Ko said, "Following a sharp decline in the domestic stock market the previous day, the U.S. stock market also showed volatility by rising and then falling overnight, indicating continued market fluctuations," and urged, "Please maintain vigilant and thorough monitoring of market trends and risk factors."

Chairman Ko diagnosed that the recent downward trend of the KOSPI is excessive and emphasized the need to avoid excessive anxiety. He said, "It is true that the KOSPI has fallen nearly 250 points over the past five trading days, showing a larger drop compared to other major countries. However, given our economy's strong fundamentals such as higher economic growth rates compared to major countries, continued export growth in January, and corporate profits, it is not desirable to have excessive anxiety."

Looking at the recent five trading days' trends in major countries' stock markets, the KOSPI fell 8.7%, the S&P 500 fell 3.5%, Japan fell 5.8%, Taiwan fell 3.0%, and Germany fell 2.4%.

Chairman Ko also ordered close monitoring of overseas market trends during the Lunar New Year holiday when the stock market is closed. He said, "There are many external variables affecting the financial market, such as the rapid shift in U.S. monetary policy stance, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the spread of the Omicron variant, and global supply chain disruptions. Even during the Lunar New Year holiday, please monitor overseas market trends and major issues with vigilance and make every effort to reduce financial market volatility."