[Yoon Seok-yeol Impeachment] Choi Sang-mok Urgently Reports to Rating Agencies and Major Countries "Stable Economic Management" (Comprehensive Report 2)

All-out Efforts to Minimize Market Shock

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced on the 4th that he sent letters to global credit rating agencies, finance ministers of major countries, international organizations, and global investment banks (IBs). On the same day, economic department heads acted swiftly to minimize the economic impact of the Constitutional Court's decision to approve the presidential impeachment.

In the letter, Deputy Prime Minister Choi stated, "Until the next president is elected, Korea's national system will operate in an orderly manner under the constitution and legal system," and added, "We will manage the economy as stably as possible." He also said, "Korea has faced many crises and challenges, but each time has been an opportunity to mature," and urged, "Please continue to show unwavering interest and support for the Korean economy."

Immediately after the Constitutional Court's ruling, Deputy Prime Minister Choi chaired the Macroeconomic and Financial Issues Meeting (F4 Meeting) and the Economic Ministers' Meeting at the Government Complex Seoul to review market trends and discuss future economic response strategies.

The meetings were attended by heads of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Fair Trade Commission, and Financial Services Commission.

The attendees stated, "Although no unusual economic trends have been observed following the impeachment ruling, given the delayed domestic demand recovery, wildfire damages, and increased burdens on domestic companies and the overall macroeconomy due to the U.S. imposition of reciprocal tariffs, the economic departments will work as one team over the next two months to manage the economy as stably as possible and to defend national creditworthiness."

They added, "We share the recognition that the passage of an essential supplementary budget worth 10 trillion won through the National Assembly within April is crucial to respond to urgent issues such as trade risk management, strengthening artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness, and supporting livelihoods including small business owners, and we will communicate more closely with the National Assembly."

Before the Economic Ministers' Meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Choi held the F4 Meeting with Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, Kim Byung-hwan, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, to review financial and foreign exchange market trends following the Constitutional Court's impeachment ruling and the imposition of reciprocal tariffs.

The attendees agreed to closely monitor market conditions mainly through future F4 meetings and to implement available market stabilization measures according to situation-specific response plans if necessary.

In the afternoon, Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, chaired an emergency financial situation review meeting and urged all employees to maintain vigilance under the emergency response system.

He assessed, "The external environment is in a grave and unpredictable situation due to concerns over trade wars caused by retaliatory tariffs by countries, the possibility of a global economic recession due to reduced trade, and backlash against the U.S.-centered economic and financial system," and warned, "Considering domestic and international uncertainties, volatility in the domestic market can expand at any time," urging, "Please closely monitor the short- and long-term funding situations of companies heavily impacted by tariff shocks."

He also stated, "We will conduct a detailed analysis of the impact on major industrial supply chains exposed to high tariffs according to shock transmission routes and review various support measures to ensure smooth supply of funds necessary for companies' tariff responses and business restructuring."