S. Korea joins creditor nations' club

한국 파리클럽 가입••• 신흥국 채무불이행 위기 때 안전판 확보
South Korea has become the twenty-first permanent member of an informal group of creditor nations known as the 'Paris Club'.
It's significant as it marks the first case of a non-advanced economy joining the prestigious group.
Hwang Ji-hye has the details.
From one of the poorest nations in the 1950s,... Korea is now globally acknowledged as a creditor country... after joining the Paris Club on Friday.
The club... is an informal group of creditor nations that seeks to find workable solutions to payment problems faced by debtor countries -- mostly emerging economies.
Korea's membership came at the club's meeting to celebrate its 60th anniversary in Paris... and marks the 20th country to join the group.
The club's permanent members include countries like the U.S. and Japan... as well as most Western European nations.
And Korea... is the first non-advanced economy to put its name on the member list.
Korea's Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok expects its membership to act as a catalyst in encouraging other emerging creditors to join the Paris Club.
Because it's an informal group, the club does not hold official statutes.
But the group has been setting rules and principles in global debt negotiations.
It also works closely with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank... that allows Korea to easily access information about debtor nations.
Korea's foreign credit stood at roughly 710-billion U.S. dollars as of the end of last year,... almost doubling the amount posted in 2008.
This has raised the necessity for Korea to be prepared for default risks in emerging economies.
Seoul expressed its will to join the group last month... at a summit between President Park Geun-hye and her French counterpart Francois Hollande in Paris.
Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News.

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