Lee to preside over emergency economic meeting on Middle East tensions

President Lee Jae Myung will preside over an emergency meeting with related ministries on Monday to review the economic impact from heightened tensions in the Middle East and discuss response measures, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. The meeting will bring together ministers and senior officials from the finance, industry, climate and energy, budget planning and agriculture ministries, as well as the Korea Customs Service and the Fair Trade Commission, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung. Lee is expected to review global financial markets and oil prices and assess their effect on the domestic stock market, the foreign exchange market and inflation. Lee previously reviewed the latest developments in the Middle East during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Thursday, following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks in the region. Korea, which relies heavily on energy imports, is particularly vulnerable to external price shocks, which often drive inflation.