President Park Geun-hye instructed officials on Tuesday to take preemptive measures to minimize the economic impact of Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone, or the “Grexit.”
She said in a Cabinet meeting that South Korea’s economy could be negatively affected by increased uncertainties following a recent no vote in a Greek referendum.
More than 60 percent of Greek voters rejected creditors’ demand for tough austerity measures in exchange for a bailout Sunday, triggering concerns over the Grexit and making investors jittery.
The leaders of 19 eurozone countries are set to hold a summit on Greece on Tuesday.
Park’s comments came as South Korea is working on a contingency plan for a possible Grexit. Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has vowed to “prepare to take measures, if necessary,” though he did not elaborate.
Park also called on officials to cooperate with the National Assembly to ensure that the parliament can quickly endorse a supplementary budget bill meant to revitalize the faltering economy.
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| Park Geun-hye (Yonhap) |
Her comment came a day after the government submitted the bill to the National Assembly for approval.
The 11.8 trillion-won ($10.49 billion) extra budget is part of a 22 trillion-won stimulus package the government says will help revitalize the economy while also providing much needed financial resources to battle the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.
The Finance Ministry has said the extra budget, if approved as requested, will help create 124,000 new jobs.
Park also said South Korea should use its recent commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions as an occasion to improve its economic structure and strengthen its international competitiveness.
South Korea has recently offered to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent by 2030 from 850.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, an amount Seoul says it would reach if it let business run as usual.
Park said the commitment reflected the international standing and responsibility of South Korea — the world’s seventh-largest greenhouse gas emitting country.
Scientists have said heat-trapping gases are to blame for global warming. (Yonhap)
