Korea vows to take pre-emptive steps over Brexit

South Korea pledged Wednesday to take pre-emptive steps to counter possible worse case scenarios after the British Parliament voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Lee Ho-seung, the first vice minister of economy and finance, said South Korea will closely monitor the situation, though the rejection of the deal had a limited impact on global financial markets as it was widely expected.

"We will take all necessary steps swiftly and decisively to stabilize financial markets in case of sharp volatility under a contingency plan," Lee said in a meeting with relevant officials in Seoul.

The senior official also said a no-deal Brexit, even if happens, could have a limited impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy because of the relatively small volume of bilateral trade.

South Korea exported goods worth $5.4 billion to Britain in the first 11 months of 2018 while importing goods worth $6.2 billion from Britain during the cited period.

Lee said South Korea will lay the groundwork for talks with Britain on forging a bilateral free trade deal quickly after Britain leaves the European Union. (Yonhap)