S. Korea vows to take swift actions to tackle economic impact of U.S. strikes on Iran

South Korea’s acting finance minister on Sunday instructed government officials to swiftly take measures, if needed, to deal with the economic impact of U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, as external uncertainty has heightened.

Acting Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il made the remarks during an emergency meeting to assess the impact of U.S. strikes on Iran on the South Korean economy and financial markets.

“Each institution needs to closely coordinate with extreme caution in responding to the Middle East situation that has entered a new phase and swiftly take necessary measures if an unusual event occurs,” Lee said while chairing the meeting.

He said the government should closely monitor the development of the Middle East tensions, and the impact on the economy and financial markets, stressing uncertainty has remained “very high” depending on Iran’s counteraction.

The meeting, held via conference call, brought together officials from the government, including the foreign affairs and trade ministries, as well as those from the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission and the Finance Supervisory Service.

The government said there has been no disruption in the country’s energy reserves and supplies, and no unusual developments have been reported in regard to maritime and logistics transportation near the Middle East.

But citing heightened external uncertainty, the government said it plans to maintain round-the-clock monitoring on the Middle East situation, and such key areas as finance, energy, trade and maritime transportation.

The finance ministry said it will swiftly take measures, if needed, in accordance with an economic contingency plan. The government will also take “immediate and bold” actions if the country’s financial markets show excessive volatility.

Separately, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also held a related meeting to examine the implications of the U.S. attacks on South Korea’s trade, energy and supply chains.

South Korea relies entirely on energy imports, with the majority sourced from the Middle East.

The trade ministry said there has been no problem in imports of energy, including crude oil and gas, and the Middle East tensions appear to have a limited impact on South Korea’s trade and supply chains.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday (U.S. time) that American warplanes have bombed Iran’s three key nuclear facilities, marking a major escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.