South Korea urged the Group of 20 countries to establish a stronger global financial safety net to overcome both ongoing and upcoming risks stemming from the latest coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.

“(Establishment) of a global financial network is a strong measure that could help stop the spread of the crisis by supporting developing countries dealing with liquidity issues,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at an online meeting with his G-20 and Paris Club creditor counterparts held Wednesday.

“Especially in the current times of unprecedented crisis, establishment of a strong global financial safety net is necessary to overcome the current crisis and the new risks that could possibly come after the COVID-19 crisis,” he added.

On top of building a fresh financial safety net, Hong stressed that each G-20 member needs to draw measures that could alleviate and counter abrupt changes in capital flow prompted by crises. The measures must be tailored for each economy instead of being drawn up with a “one-size-fits-all” mindset, he said.

Hong said the International Monetary Fund’s efforts to launch an integrated policy framework would work as a guideline for global economies in devising tailored policies.

Meanwhile, the fiscal chief expressed concerns about deglobalization that has been increasing and inequalities that have surfaced with the spread of the pandemic.

The G-20 members must cooperate and together tackle the role of a compass for the prosperity of the humanity, Hong said.

The global financial market has been struggling with liquidity crunches due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast the global economy to contract 6 percent this year, marking the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)