U.S. President Donald Trump’s indication of continued war with Iran has intensified global economic uncertainty. The Blue House (South Korea’s presidential office) plans to maintain its existing emergency response system and manage energy supply, as the situation in the Middle East remains unchanged.
According to a comprehensive report by News1 on Thursday, the Blue House intends to uphold the crisis management system established since the war’s outbreak, following President Trump’s comments about ongoing conflict. This stance was reportedly shared during a morning meeting at the Blue House.
A senior Blue House official stated that the likelihood of continued war is higher than a peace declaration, adding that it will respond with our existing system. The situation remains similar to before. Another official echoed this sentiment, saying that there’s no change in the approach. It plans to respond as it has been.
In a major speech on the same day, Trump announced that the U.S. would strike Iran forcefully over the next two to three weeks. Earlier, Trump had raised hopes for peace by stating that it will withdraw soon, but his unexpected message of ongoing war has caused market turbulence.
Following Trump’s comments about continuing the war, international oil prices surged by about 5%, and Asian stock markets fell sharply. South Korea’s KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices both experienced declines of approximately 3%.
With the war’s continuation, the potential for a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial international oil transportation route, has increased. The Blue House is closely monitoring energy supply and potential impacts on the domestic economy.
Previously, the South Korean government raised the oil resource security crisis alert level to warning and decided to strengthen energy demand management. President Lee Jae Myung chaired an emergency economic meeting the day before (April 1), instructing officials to proactively identify and list all items expected to be affected by the war, while closely monitoring daily supply conditions, price trends, and any signs of abnormality. He also called for actively exploring alternative supply sources overseas, particularly through diplomatic missions.
On this day, President Lee is set to deliver a speech regarding a supplementary budget proposal for war-related expenditures amounting to 26.2 trillion KRW (approximately 17.3 billion USD). Given the anticipated impact of the Middle Eastern conflict on vulnerable populations, he is expected to request prompt review and approval from the National Assembly.
Some analysts speculate that as the Middle Eastern war drags on, there is a possibility that the supplementary budget proposal could be increased during the National Assembly’s review process.