By Seonjin Cha and Seyoon Kim
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea's Deputy Finance Minister Shin Je Yoon said the country isn't planning to join a currency swap agreement with International Monetary Fund.
``The fundamentals of South Korea remain sound and it has enough foreign-exchange reserves,'' so it isn't necessary to review the step, Shin said in a SBS radio interview today in Seoul.
The IMF's board this week approved an emergency lending program that almost doubles borrowing limits for developing nations and waives demands for economic austerity measures. South Korea's government required a $57 billion bailout from the IMF during the Asian financial crisis a decade ago.
Shin expects South Korea's currency, Asia's worst performer this year, to ``stabilize'' soon. The won jumped the most since December 1997 yesterday after the Federal Reserve agreed to provide $30 billion to the country's central bank, helping ease a shortage of U.S. dollars facing banks and companies.
``It's hard to comment as a policy maker on the won-dollar rate,'' Shin said separately, in a KBS radio interview. ``But the currency market has been unstable and I believe the currency swap gives the reason for the currency rate to stabilize.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Seonjin Cha in Seoul at scha2@bloomberg.net; Seyoon Kim in Seoul at skim7@bloomberg.net
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