IMF Approves SDR 15.5 Billion Stand-by Credit for Korea
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/1997/pr9755.htm
Press Conference of Stanley Fischer, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF
http://www.imf.org/external/np/tr/1997/tr971205.htm
Republic of Korea: IMF Stand-by Arrangement, Summary of Economic Program
http://www.imf.org/external/np/oth/korea.htm
IMF Program for Korea: Summary
http://www.mofe.go.kr/P_R/pr121001.html
Financial Market Stabilization Package
http://www.mofe.go.kr/E_B/eb_1108.html
Reality Cheque
http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/1997/int/971201/korea.html


This week's In the News looks at the South Korean financial crisis. The six
resources above provide information about how the financial crisis started
and what steps the Korean government is taking to overcome the crisis. The
beginning of the financial crisis in South Korea can be traced to the
collapse of Hanbo Steel Corp., the first in a string of large corporate
failures in South Korea. This was followed by the decline in the value of
the Korean won against the dollar in October 1997, which persisted until
November when the Central Bank of Korea stopped intervening to support the
won. The continued decline in won forced the Korean government to seek
financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). On
December 3, the IMF announced a $55 billion aid package for South Korea.

The "IMF Approves SDR 15.5 Billion Stand-by Credit for Korea" details the
aid package put together for Korea and provides a background of the events
and the objectives of the aid package. On December 5, 1997, Stanley
Fischer, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, gave a press conference
on the IMF aid package. The "Republic of Korea: IMF Stand-by Arrangement,
Summary of Economic Program" details the economic program that the IMF
expects the Korean government to adopt. The main features of the economic
program involve restructuring and liberalizing the economy. A summary of
the economic program can be found on the Korean Ministry of Finance and
Economy site. The Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy site also contains
details of the Financial Market Stabilization Package aimed at solving the
financial crisis announced on November 19, 1997. Reality Cheque is an
article in Time magazine explaining how the long-neglected banking problems
in Korea led to the current crisis. [THN]