Fed's rate hike to have limited impact on S.Korea: Vice finance minister

South Korea's government said Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate hike in almost a decade would have only a limited impact on the South Korean economy.

"Impact, which the U.S. interest rate hike will have on our economy, is not big," Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan told an emergency meeting to review the results of the Fed's target increase for the federal funds rate from zero-0.25 percent to 0.25-0.5 percent.

The meeting was attended by officials from the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and other related institutions.

Concerns recently emerged over possible foreign capital outflow from the South Korean financial market following the first U.S. rate hike in nine and a half years.

Joo said that South Korea has favorable economic fundamentals such as current account surplus, growing foreign currency reserves and fiscal healthiness, adding that possibility is high for the South Korean economy to show a decoupling from other emerging economies.

The vice minister, however, noted that uncertainties have yet to disappear in the global financial market, pledging to make a rapid response to possible market instabilities according to contingency plan. Enditem