Kwon Young-se "Second Financial Crisis Possible with South Korea's Impeachment... Exchange Rate Could Exceed 1500 Won"

"Even Chairman Woo Won-sik Should Come to His Senses"
"Democratic Party Fully Responsible for Economic Crisis"

Kwon Young-se, a member of the People Power Party who has been nominated as the new Emergency Response Committee Chairman, said regarding the Democratic Party of Korea's announcement on the 27th to hold a vote on the impeachment motion against Acting President Han Deok-su, "There is no guarantee that a second foreign exchange crisis will not occur."

Kwon Young-se, a member of the National Assembly nominated as the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On the 26th, after attending the plenary session of the National Assembly, Kwon responded to reporters' question, "How will you respond to the impeachment motion against Acting President Han?" by saying this. He added, "I hope even Speaker Woo Won-sik will come to his senses," and said, "Our economy is currently in a very difficult situation, and I heard that the won-dollar exchange rate has exceeded 1,460 won for the first time since the financial crisis."

He said, "After the presidential impeachment, as the Han acting president system settled in, the won-dollar exchange rate rose but then paused, and even showed a tendency to decline," adding, "The day before yesterday, when talk of impeaching Acting President Han surfaced, the rate broke through 1,450 and 1,460 won. If this becomes concrete, I believe it will even exceed 1,500 won."

Kwon emphasized, "If that happens, a major crisis will hit our economy, and I believe the Democratic Party bears full responsibility," and said, "I think the Democratic Party should withdraw this absurd impeachment motion, if only to avoid taking full responsibility."

Regarding the appointment of three constitutional court justices led by the opposition party at the National Assembly that day, when asked if they would consider a dispute over authority judgment, Kwon replied, "Since Acting President Han has decided not to make the appointments, I plan to watch the situation for now." About the vote on the impeachment motion against Acting President Han scheduled for the next day, he added, "There is a planned party meeting, so I think the members will gather opinions and make a good decision."