Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said today (the 31st), "With special vigilance, the government will more closely monitor economic conditions centered around the Emergency Economic Headquarters meetings and respond in a timely manner."

Presiding over a joint meeting of the Emergency Economic Headquarters, economic ministers, and the task force for special management of people's livelihood prices at the Government Complex Seoul this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Koo made the remarks, stating, "As the Middle East conflict prolongs with the resumption of clashes between the U.S. and Iran, financial market volatility is increasing, making active management necessary."

In addition, he promised to make efforts toward economic structural innovation to stabilize public livelihood and enhance the competitiveness of the corporate ecosystem.

Regarding statistics released by the National Data Agency showing that the all-industry production index (seasonally adjusted, excluding agriculture, forestry, and fisheries) for June increased by 2.3% from the previous month—marking the largest growth in six years—as well as the rise in the Corporate Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) announced by the Bank of Korea the previous day, Koo diagnosed that "the real economy continues to show a solid trend."

During the meeting, discussions were held on responses to the Middle East conflict, measures to strengthen safety against factory fires, plans to take budget phone services to the next level through "Budget Phone 2.0," and the introduction of a Korean-style strategic sovereign wealth fund.

(Photo: Yonhap News)