S. Korea calls for 'aggressive, swift' measures to tackle eurozone crisis

South Korea's finance minister Tuesday called for more "aggressive and swift" measures in tackling the eurozone debt problem to prevent it from growing into a global financial crisis. "It is impossible to resolve the eurozone fiscal crisis with a couple of stopgap measures," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said during a meeting with other policymakers held in central Seoul. "It is important for each nation to carry out measures in a more aggressive and swift manner, while regaining trust through continued communication with the market," he added. Bahk also called for each nation to draw up an "essentially firm and safe framework" to prevent the eurozone problem from developing into a global financial crisis. His remarks come as fiscal debt woes in Europe and a stagnating economic recovery in major economies raise concerns over a double-dip recession worldwide. South Korea's financial market is going through greater volatility in the face of the growing external uncertainties, raising concerns it could face a similar crisis to 2008. The minister said that South Korea's economic fundamentals have been stronger as evidenced by positive assessments made by global credit appraisers but added that it is not the time to be complacent. "We need to beef up the health of our real economy in order to minimize the wobbling in the midst of the high waves caused by a global economic recession," he noted. Meanwhile, the minister and other policymakers agreed during the meeting to cooperate in exporting US$200 million worth of e-government systems this year in line with growing demand for more efficient administrative systems in other nations. Since 2006, South Korea has sold e-government systems estimated at $451.2 million to a total of 24 countries. The exports were bolstered thanks to expanded government-level exchanges with countries in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and other emerging economies, the finance ministry said in a press release.