Meeting with German Bundestag finance committee

'Growth and financial stability must go hand in hand'

Capital markets, digital finance cooperation also discussed

FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won attends an emergency economic review meeting at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Yonhap]
FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won attends an emergency economic review meeting at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Yonhap]

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won said Tuesday that volatility in South Korea's financial markets has been rising amid shifting external conditions, including higher global interest rates, and that authorities are proactively reviewing risk factors and strengthening their market-stability response framework.

Lee made the remarks during a meeting Tuesday at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu with Christian Görke, chairman of the German Bundestag's finance committee, and six other members of the lower house, according to the FSC.

The German delegation said it had visited South Korea to share experiences and draw lessons from the two countries' similarities — both have manufacturing- and export-driven economies and face comparable structural challenges such as low growth and demographic change.

Lee said overhauling the financial system in response to structural shifts was critical, particularly in identifying new growth sectors capable of generating future value and ensuring that the necessary funding reaches them in a timely manner — what he described as the role of "productive finance."

He went on to say that South Korea is expanding capital supply to future growth sectors through vehicles such as the National Growth Fund, while also pursuing regulatory reforms to develop the capital markets into a platform for innovation and growth.

Lee added that, as rising global interest rates and other external changes continue to fuel volatility in domestic financial markets, authorities are proactively checking risk factors and reinforcing their response framework to prevent market instability from spreading across the broader financial system.

Both sides agreed that effectively addressing the shared challenge of growing financial market uncertainty requires a policy approach that balances economic growth with financial stability, as well as close international cooperation.


th5@heraldcorp.com