“Policy Chief, Policy Chief! What on Earth Are You Doing Right Now?”

[Choice Times=Eun-hye Kim, Lawmaker of the People Power Party]

The won–dollar exchange rate has surged into the 1,480 range intraday—for the first time in 15 years and 9 months since March 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

The government may want to blame global factors, but that excuse simply does not hold. By any measure, including the dollar index, the global environment today is actually favorable to a weaker dollar.

And yet, the won—historically known for moving in tandem with global dollar trends—has skyrocketed under this government alone. Why is that?

This administration has dismantled the nation’s core growth engines, such as nuclear power. It has shackled companies with regulations. The true master of this government no longer seems to be young people, but the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Under these conditions, why would foreign investors want to invest in Korea?

Last April, when he was still the opposition leader, President Lee Jae-myung criticized the situation by saying that once the exchange rate exceeded 1,400 won, “if 1,400 signaled the realization of a crisis, then approaching 1,500 means we are on the brink of economic collapse.”

President Lee was right. We are now facing a national crisis.

And yet once again, the president is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the policy chief and the deputy prime minister have been sent out to tighten the screws on exporters and Korean retail investors overseas.

Is the rise in the dollar the fault of the public? According to reports, the policy chief summoned business leaders and warned them not to “chase small profits.” Immediately afterward, companies reportedly responded—under clear duress—that they would “release dollars into the domestic market.”

This scene feels all too familiar.

China did the same during periods of yuan weakness—directly monitoring corporate dollar holdings and sales, and controlling dollar transactions. The whip brought a brief pause in the exchange rate’s rise, but the yuan soon collapsed again.

When this government is in a bind, is the country it chooses to emulate an authoritarian state like China?

One moment it urged companies to “invest in the United States.” Now it says, “Forget the U.S.—just bring back the dollars.” How is this any different from a street thug extorting stall fees from vendors?

Corporate control. Chasing small, short-term gains while throwing away the nation’s long-term future—have the officials of this administration already forgotten the words of the ruling party’s own floor leader?

“Policy chief. Policy chief. Policy chief!
What on earth are you doing right now?”

#CurrencyCrisis #GovernmentOverreach #EconomicMismanagement