South Korea will closely monitor growing uncertainties in the global market, especially newly emerging countries, to prepare for any possible impact on the local economy, the government said Sunday.

In an emergency meeting, chaired by Vice Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, the government noted the United States' anticipated tapering of quantitative easing, along with the slowing economic growth of China, were causing financial instability in developing countries, including Argentina and Turkey.

"Newly emerging countries, such as Argentina and Turkey, have little direct links to the Korean economy, but if such developments spread to most developing countries, they will inevitably affect South Korea's financial and foreign exchange markets, and its economy," Choo told the meeting, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

Sunday's meeting also involved officials from the Bank of Korea, Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service.

The ministry said the currencies of Argentina and Turkey were already undergoing serious depreciations as the United States' Federal Open Market Committee was widely expected to announce tapering of U.S.'s quantitative easing at a meeting scheduled for Thursday.

The volatility index, often referred to as the fear gauge, has jumped over 32 percent from 13.7 at the end of last year to 18.1 on Friday, the ministry said in a press release.

"Considering that the financial instability in the newly emerging countries may be prolonged as it is the result of internal and external factors, the government will step up its monitoring of domestic and global economic and financial conditions," Choo, the vice finance minister, was quoted as saying. (Yonhap News)