ID :
23773
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 20:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23773
The shortlink copeid
Political tension mounts over ruling party`s 'dollar donation' proposal
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's opposition leaders blasted the head of
the ruling party Friday over his appeal to people to sell their U.S. currency to
help protect the country against an escalating U.S. dollar shortage.
In a radio interview early Friday, Park Hee-tae, chairman of the conservative
Grand National Party (GNP), urged South Korean citizens sell their U.S. dollars
to stop the plunging value of their national currency.
Park was alluding to an unusual nationwide drive a decade ago when South Koreans
voluntarily sold pieces of gold in hopes of helping their country bounce back
from the Asian financial crisis.
"President Lee Myung-bak has warned against a rush to hoard U.S. dollars," Park
told the local broadcaster, MBC. "I'm taking a step further by suggesting that we
bring out our U.S. dollars as a way to love our country."
Park's comment came as won fell to a new 10-year low a gainst the greenback
Friday morning on concerns that a global credit crunch may expose local companies
and banks to a dollar shortage.
"I don't mean that we should sell dollars as we did gold. We should put the money
in banks," he said. Hours after his comments, a group of GNP officials put their
U.S. dollars in local savings accounts after meeting with foreign exchange
dealers.
Opposition parties immediately ridiculed the move.
"This is an act of admitting that the current situation is a crisis, fostering
mistrust in the market," Choi Jae-sung, spokesman for the main opposition
Democratic Party, said in a briefing. The ruling GNP holds 172 seats in the
299-member unicameral house.
"The current financial turmoil has been aggravated by the economic mismanagement
by the government." Choi said, snubbing the ruling party's proposal "a publicity
event."
The Liberty Forward Party and the Democratic Labor Party, two other minor
opposition parties, both dismissed the proposal as ineffective, calling on Lee to
replace his economic policymakers to draw up a sweeping measure to help the
ailing South Korean currency.
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's opposition leaders blasted the head of
the ruling party Friday over his appeal to people to sell their U.S. currency to
help protect the country against an escalating U.S. dollar shortage.
In a radio interview early Friday, Park Hee-tae, chairman of the conservative
Grand National Party (GNP), urged South Korean citizens sell their U.S. dollars
to stop the plunging value of their national currency.
Park was alluding to an unusual nationwide drive a decade ago when South Koreans
voluntarily sold pieces of gold in hopes of helping their country bounce back
from the Asian financial crisis.
"President Lee Myung-bak has warned against a rush to hoard U.S. dollars," Park
told the local broadcaster, MBC. "I'm taking a step further by suggesting that we
bring out our U.S. dollars as a way to love our country."
Park's comment came as won fell to a new 10-year low a gainst the greenback
Friday morning on concerns that a global credit crunch may expose local companies
and banks to a dollar shortage.
"I don't mean that we should sell dollars as we did gold. We should put the money
in banks," he said. Hours after his comments, a group of GNP officials put their
U.S. dollars in local savings accounts after meeting with foreign exchange
dealers.
Opposition parties immediately ridiculed the move.
"This is an act of admitting that the current situation is a crisis, fostering
mistrust in the market," Choi Jae-sung, spokesman for the main opposition
Democratic Party, said in a briefing. The ruling GNP holds 172 seats in the
299-member unicameral house.
"The current financial turmoil has been aggravated by the economic mismanagement
by the government." Choi said, snubbing the ruling party's proposal "a publicity
event."
The Liberty Forward Party and the Democratic Labor Party, two other minor
opposition parties, both dismissed the proposal as ineffective, calling on Lee to
replace his economic policymakers to draw up a sweeping measure to help the
ailing South Korean currency.
