S. Korea to run daily monitoring system to gauge fallout from Dubai crisis

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will run a daily monitoring system to
gauge the fallout from the unfolding Dubai crisis on the nation's financial
markets in a bid to stave off possible market turmoil, a senior financial
policymaker said Monday.

"We will establish a daily monitoring system to throughly watch developments in
each related area until the Dubai debacle comes to a sure end," Vice Finance
Minister Hur Kyung-wook told an emergency meeting attended by high-ranking
officials from the central bank and economy-related ministries.
His remarks come after a Dubai firm called for a six-month repayment moratorium
on billions of dollars in debt Wednesday, raising fears it could trigger yet
another global financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year.
South Korea's financial markets were severely rattled, with its stock index
plunging and the local currency losing marked ground against the U.S. dollar last
week as investors sought safer assets amid increased uncertainty.
Hur noted that shocks witnessed in markets at home and abroad are now showing
signs of easing, adding that the "possibility is slim" that the Dubai debt
problem could develop into a full-blown global financial crisis.
But he said the government should brace for the worst-case scenario, as jitters
might linger "for the time being," and called for agencies to share information
to avoid giving confused signals to the markets.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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