SEOUL - South Korea warned on Thursday of a possible global credit crunch as financial market disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic trigger a broad selloff in bonds and a scramble for dollar funding in emerging markets.

Vice-Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom vowed to roll out measures to ease wild market volatility, as the won slid a further 3 percent against the dollar on Thursday to hit a decade low.

Most other Asian emerging market currencies also skidded, with Indonesia's rupiah sink to its weakest level since 1998.

It isn’t just an issue for us (Korea) but foreign investment is flowing out of the country across emerging markets and are adding pressures to stocks and FX markets.

Kim Yong-beom, Vice-finance minister of South Korea

In an emergency policy meeting, Kim said spiking costs for obtaining US dollars and capital outflows from emerging economies’ stock markets could mean the world may be heading to a global credit crunch.

“It isn’t just an issue for us (Korea) but foreign investment is flowing out of the country across emerging markets and are adding pressures to stocks and FX markets,” Kim said.

South Korea will support dollar funding needs of local companies and vowed to inject funds into local bond market if needed, he added.

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The comments come after the government on Wednesday relaxed one of its key capital flow rules to inject more dollars into its banking system to ensure businesses have enough greenbacks to come through a funding crunch unscathed.

The Bank of Korea was working in tandem. It held a 1 trillion won (US$783.5 million) repo auction on Thursday morning to add fresh capital into local brokerages.

The auction drew orders for nearly twice the offered amount, suggesting high demand for liquidity support in the financial sector.

The global flight to safety has taken the won to a 10-year low, and the Bank of Korea was suspected of selling dollars on Thursday morning to slow its declines as it neared 1,260 won per dollar.

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The Korea Exchange said on Thursday circuit breakers were triggered on the benchmark KOSPI after it plunged more than 8 percent. The index is set to post its sharpest daily fall since late 2008.

South Korean treasury bond yields rose sharply across the board as the panic spread, with the benchmark 10-year yield rising 11.5 basis points as of 0250 GMT to 1.613 percent, according to Refinitiv data.