South Korea vows to address financial market volatility amid virus outbreak

[SEOUL] South Korea on Monday said it will put in place policies to minimise the impact on its economy of the coronavirus outbreak, and vowed to act to calm any financial market instability.

"All our efforts need to focus on minimizing the impact on the local economy," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in a policy meeting in Seoul. "The government will deploy preemptive, prompt and precise market stability measures according to contingency plans should volatilities increase."

Mr Hong also warned against face mask price gouging, and said the government will punish people engaging in price-rigging at a time when demand for masks and sanitary gels is spiking.

The virus, which originated in the Chinese central city of Wuhan, has spread to the United States, Japan, Canada, France and Germany among others. It has killed 350 people in China's Hubei province.

REUTERS