<Anchor> In the



midst of a number of adverse events in the global economy, our financial market was also in an unstable state today (12th). The Bank of Korea also frozen the base rate to reflect this situation, and said that it could consider an interest rate hike next month.



This is reporter Kim Jung-woo.



<Reporter> The



won-dollar exchange rate soared to 1,200.4 won per dollar at the beginning of the market.



It is the first time in one year and three months since July last year that the exchange rate entered the 1,200 won range during the day.



The stock price was also weakened by the sharp rise in the exchange rate.



The KOSPI, which was constantly threatened by the 2,900 line during the day, fell 1.35% to close at 2,916.38.



In the process of 'selling' by foreigners who were concerned about the slump in the semiconductor industry, it was close to the lowest level recorded on the 6th of the year.



The decline of large-cap stocks was steep, with Samsung Electronics, the No.



A number of negative factors, such as inflation concerns due to oil price hikes and supply chain disruptions, and economic slowdown due to power shortages in China, show no signs of easing in the short term.



This is the reason why foreign investors are leaving.



[Kim So-young / Professor of Economics at Seoul National University: When foreigners take money out of the Korean stock market, the stock price falls and the Korean Won weakens a little.]



The Bank of Korea frozen the base rate at 0.75% per annum to reflect the unstable financial market situation.



However, the possibility of a rate hike next month remains open as consumer price inflation continues to be at a high level of 2%.



[Lee Joo-yeol/Governor of the Bank of Korea: If the economic trend is going as expected, I think that an additional increase in the base rate may be considered at the next meeting.]



Concerns about the possibility of a recession accompanied by inflation, that is, stagflation, are worrying as the growth rate is solid. I drew a line that the situation was not.



(Video coverage: Kim Gyun-jong, video editing: Jung Yong-hwa)