Gov't to focus on stabilizing economy in October: finance minister

(ATTN: ADDS with more information from para 10)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top economic policymaker said Friday the government aims to stabilize the local economy by the end of October, but expects lingering financial uncertainty to burden recovery.

Speaking to reporters before departing for the annual World Bank Group and
International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, Finance Minister Kang Man-soo
said the country's action plan calls for alleviating market concerns this month.
South Korea foreign change market has taken a beating following the Lehman
Brothers debacle last month, casting shadows on the overall health of the
economy.
The Korean won dipped to around 1,450 won to the U.S. dollar in trading this
week, but made a comeback to close at 1,309.0 to the greenback earlier in the
day. This is a gain from the closing price of 1,379.5 won to the dollar tallied
for Thursday.
"The times are hard, but the situation is perfectly manageable with the foreign
reserves at the government's disposal," he said.
As of late September, the country's foreign currency holdings reached US$239.7
billion, the sixth-largest in the world.
Kang then said detailed talks have taken place with the Bank of Korea and
contingency plans are in place to deal with developments in the stock and foreign
exchange markets.
The minister, however, said that even after conditions stabilize, the global
financial crisis could take time to fully pan out.
He said that judging from past experience, the market sometimes reacts negatively
towards bailout and emergency action plans if they do not meet expectations,
hinting that Seoul does not expect a "quick fix" to the current crisis.
The policymaker added that besides having solid contingency plans, the stance of
the administration is to follow a consistent and transparent path in terms of
economic policy initiatives.
On his visit to Washington, Kang said he planned to discuss ways to push forward
the Chiang Mai Initiative and the creation of a US$80 billion emergency fund to
cope with any emergencies like the one that paralyzed Asia in 1997-98.
He is expected to meet with his Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of the IMF
meeting.
Kang caught flak for allowing the won to depreciate earlier in the year, and has
been blamed by some as triggering inflationary pressure.
The official said that the Group of Twenty (G-20) meeting scheduled for Saturday
ahead of the World Bank-IMF meeting may help countries find a new perspective for
the ailing financial market.
yonngong@yna.co.kr