Korea's economic and financial authorities held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss ways to fend off any possible fallout from the British withdrawal from the European Union.

Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok presided over the meeting, with other officials from the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Commission attending. The BOK also held a separate meeting to discuss ways to calm the financial market.

In the morning, the vice minister said the South Korean government will take market stabilizing measures if the foreign exchange market becomes wildly volatile in accordance with the results of the landmark British referendum.

With the Brexit decision looming, the South Korean financial market has experienced major turbulence throughout the day. Earlier in the day, the bourse operator halted trading of the secondary KOSDAQ as the market lost ground sharply, while the Korean won tumbled by nearly 30 won against the U.S. dollar. (Yonhap)