South Korea is ready to deal with the local currency's rapid rise that may be caused by quantitative easing moves by the United States and Japan, Seoul's top economic policymaker said Wednesday.

"Measures have been prepared," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told reporters, though he declined to elaborate on details.

He also vowed to make efforts to ease currency fluctuations, a key factor in Asia's fourth-largest economy where exports account for about 57 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

A strong won might hurt South Korea's exporters by making their products more expensive in global markets.

The won gained 7.6 percent against the dollar in 2012 from a year earlier, while it gained 19.6 percent against the Japanese yen over the same period, according to the Bank of Korea. The local currency has also gained 0.11 percent and 3.52 percent against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen this year, respectively.

Bahk's comments weakened the won. It was changing hands at 1,065.30 won against the greenback as of 9:20 a.m., down 3 won from Tuesday's close.

The U.S. and Japan have taken the quantitative easing moves to try to boost their economies, steps that could eventually result in the further appreciation of the Korean won.

The outgoing minister said quantitative easing moves could be one of the issues to be discussed at the finance ministers' meeting of the G20, a group of the world's most economically powerful countries, which will be held in Russia next month.

He said Japanese quantitative easing could give a short-term boost to the Japanese economy, but it could cause mid- and long-term costs.

He also said some South Korean industries, which compete against their Japanese rivals, could face some difficulties due to the Japanese move.

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have said their sales could drop by about 200 billion won (US$187 million) should the local currency gain 10 won against the dollar.

Bahk also said the outgoing government has created 1.25 million jobs over the past five years, but he voiced concern that the job creation momentum may be weakened this year.

South Korea's jobless rate stood at 2.9 percent in December, slightly up from the previous month's 2.8 percent. The rate has been in the 2-percent range since September, according to Statistics Korea. (Yonhap News)