[THE INVESTOR] Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho on July 8 said the authorities will manage the country’s foreign exchange reserves in a stable way to overcome the headwinds from Brexit.

“To deal with rising financial uncertainties, we have to establish a firm safety valve,” he said in a minister-level meeting in Seoul. “The economic authorities will work to manage foreign exchange reserves in a stable mode, the last bulwark of the South Korean economy.”

The country’s forex reserves came to US$369.9 billion as of end-June, the seventh-largest following China, Japan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Russia, in that order.

He also promised to reorganize the related regulations on raising emergency funds in order to take preemptive steps if various concerns are to become reality.

The top economic policymaker’s comments came as the landmark British referendum on June 23 has jolted the global financial market.

The so-called Brexit sparked concerns that foreign investors would pull their money out of the South Korean stock market, where foreign ownership accounts for more than 30 percent, as part of their portfolio relocation strategy to reduce risky assets.

“The South Korean government is on full alert against any changes in the overseas market conditions,” said Yoo, who also doubles as deputy prime minister on economic affairs.

“We will carry out economy boosting measures and structural reform to help the economy stay afloat in possible financial turmoil.”

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)