경제장관회의....외환시장 개입내역 공개, LNG 추진선박 발주
South Korea plans to provide greater transparency in foreign exchange transactions.
The government's latest move is designed to help lift suspicions of Seoul playing around with its currency to give exporters at home an unfair advantage.
For details we turn to our Kim Hyesung.
South Korea will start disclosing its currency market intervention records on a regular basis.
At an economic ministers meeting on Thursday, the Bank of Korea and the Finance Ministry said they will disclose the country's net buying and selling of U.S. dollars.
The government will reveal details every six months for one year starting from the second half of 2018.
From then on, the government will disclose the details on a quarterly basis.
The announcement comes after the U.S. government and the IMF repeatedly called on South Korea to release its FX intervention records and enhance transparency.
South Korea, along with China, avoided being labeled a currency manipulator in the U.S. Treasury Department's semiannual report in April, but was kept on its currency "monitoring list."
Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said the measure will help remove unnecessary misunderstandings about the country's currency market operations and help build trust about its policies in the long run.
Another focus during the meeting was on the use of Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG-powered vessels.
The government plans to gradually replace its towing vessels that use Bunker C or diesel, which emit fine dust particles, with LNG-powered vessels that are more eco-friendly.
It will place its first order for two LNG-powered vessels in August that will sail between South Korea and Australia.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries says it will support the adoption of LNG-powered vessels through subsidies and technological development.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
