Meeting to Review the Impact of Israel-Hamas Conflict on the Financial Markets and Real Economy

Deputy Prime Minister Kyungho Choo convened a meeting on financial markets and the real economy attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance on October 10 and called for all-out efforts to minimize the impact of the recent Israel-Hamas conflict on the Korean economy.

Above all, DPM Choo noted that although the impact on the global financial markets is limited at present, the uncertainty from any future development of the war is very high. Under the circumstances, he directed officials to conduct a meticulous, round-clock monitoring on the domestic and foreign financial markets as well as foreign exchange markets, while re-examining the government’s contingency plan for any potential crisis, in coordination with relevant agencies. Not only that, he reiterated the importance of enhancing monitoring of the current status of the real economy and the need to continue efforts to stimulate domestic consumption and investment.

Moreover, DPM Choo pointed out that while global oil prices showed a short-term rise (WTI 4.3%↑) immediately after the conflict, there is a possibility that fluctuations will be expanded in the future depending on how the conflict would develop. In this regard, he noted that necessary measures should be taken in collaboration with relevant ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to ensure that the current situations does not lead to disruptions in the domestic energy supply in the future. At the same time, he urged for a thorough analysis over what impacts the war will have on the Korean economy including the global energy market dynamics, based on the lessons learned from the past conflicts in the Middle East.

Please refer to the attached files.