South Korea's finance chief rules out using pension fund for FX intervention

구윤철 경제부총리 겸 기획재정부 장관이 2일 용산 대통령실에서 열린 국무회의에서 발언하고 있다.[사진=연합뉴스]

SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - South Korea’s finance chief pushed back against speculation that the government might lean on the National Pension Service to help stabilize the weakening won, saying market fundamentals — not state intervention — should guide currency movements.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol, speaking in a radio interview Friday, said the government has no intention of directing the NPS, one of the world’s largest institutional investors, to adjust its dollar holdings for exchange-rate purposes.

“The pension fund requires dollars for overseas investments and converts them back during payouts,” he said. “We intend to establish a new framework that reflects these structural realities, not one based on government intervention.”

Koo said the administration is focused on balancing foreign-exchange supply and demand in the near term but argued that the only durable solution lies in strengthening the competitiveness of Korean companies and the broader economy.

“Our goal is to build an economic structure in which foreign exchange flows naturally,” he said.

* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
Park Ki-rock 기자 kirock@ajunews.com

- Copyright ⓒ [아주경제 ajunews.com] 무단전재 배포금지 -