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The United States and Europe, which are issuing sanctions against Russia one after another, have decided to withdraw Russia from Swift, an international financial settlement network that connects financial institutions around the world.



Correspondent Kim Jong-won of New York reports what kind of action Swift's expulsion is, which is considered the most powerful economic sanctions enough to be called a nuclear bomb of financial sanctions.



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11,000 banks in more than 200 countries, the network that serves as a pipeline when these banks transfer money across borders is the International Interbank Communication Association, or Swift.



Being kicked out of SWIFT means being cut off from the global financial and capital markets, and is considered the strongest economic sanctions.



[Brunot Lemaire/French Finance Minister: Swift is a nuclear weapon in the financial world.

Swift sanctions allow us to block Russia's access to financial institutions.]



The US and Europe have decided to kick some Russian banks out of Swift first.



It will be difficult for Russian companies to give or receive export payments and to borrow money or receive investment from abroad.



The U.S. and Europe also decided to ban the Russian central bank from accessing its international reserves of more than 774 trillion Korean won.



Biden, who emphasized the participation of more countries in sanctions, also mentioned South Korea.



[Joe Biden/President of the United States: (Russia) will pay a price in the long run.

I think not only Europe, but also Japan, South Korea, and Australia in the Pacific region will join in the sanctions.]



Experts predicted that the sanctions would immediately threaten the Russian economy, but Russia could quickly find another way.



In particular, there are forecasts that the dollar's hegemony in the international financial market may weaken if Russia expands its own payment network in partnership with China.



In addition, as the possibility of using virtual currency in Russia has been raised, additional sanctions against Bitcoin are being considered.



European countries have banned Russian aircraft from entering their airspace from today (27th), and Germany has decided to provide additional support to Ukraine with Stinger missiles and anti-tank weapons.



(Video coverage: Lee Sang-wook, video editing: Kim Jong-mi)