▲ President Yoon Suk-yeol takes reporters' questions as he arrives at his office in Seoul on June 20, 2022. (Yonhap)

Yoon-economy

Yoon calls for measures to protect vulnerable groups from interest rate hikes

SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed officials Monday to come up with measures to protect vulnerable groups from rising interest rates worldwide.

Yoon gave the directive during a weekly meeting with his senior secretaries, apparently referring to recent decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to hike interest rates to tame inflation.

"(Yoon) emphasized that the financial authorities and financial organizations must work together to ensure the interest rate burden on financial consumers does not increase sharply at this time of rate hikes," a presidential official told reporters.

"He especially instructed (officials) to come up with measures to ease the burden on vulnerable groups," the official said.

Yoon has made economic revival a priority of his administration.

Speaking to reporters earlier Monday, he admitted there are few fundamental solutions to the economic challenges, as countries around the world are raising interest rates to curb inflation.

"But the government is doing its best to control livelihood prices for the middle and working classes that are the target of our policies," he said.

Yoon also called on the National Assembly to respond in a bipartisan manner to policies that require legislative amendments.

"The people are holding on to their last breaths," he said, referring to their economic difficulties.

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